CHILD PROTECTION AND SAFEGUARDING POLICY BECKFOOT UPPER HEATON LOCAL VERSION

Version 5.0

Date August 20

Approved by Board of Directors Pending ratification

Version Date Description Revision author

1.1 05/10/2016 Trust Version Created DPC (BF) and EBM (HB)

1.2 08/11/2016 Merged with FGM/Forced Marriage & e-Safeguarding Policies FMW

1.3 01/02/2017 Add ref to Disqualification by Association FMW

2.0 02/10/2017 Re-format of document to include contents index, updates to DFE Guidance FMW references/contacts. Inclusion of CME/Code of Conduct Sections. Updates to App7,8 &9. Updates to flowchart.

3.0 16/10/18 Update to policy to reflect changes in statutory guidance as outlined in AS-B Keeping Children Safe in Education (KSIE). Changes also made to roles and responsibilities within Central Improvement Team.

4.0 30/08/19 Update to reflect: 1. Development internally as a Trust 2. More information AS-B/AV on CME and County Lines Updates 3. Changes to KCSIE 2018 (02.09.19)

5.0 27/08/20 Update to reflect changes to KCSIE 2020 ASB/GD/AV/RG

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Contents 1.0 Introduction ...... 4 2.0 Ethos and Purpose ...... 4 3.0 Beckfoot Trust Safeguarding Contacts / Procedures ...... 6 4.0 Local School Safeguarding Contacts & Legislation ...... 8 5.0 Local Authority Safeguarding Arrangements ...... 9 6.0 Safeguarding Monitoring and Evaluation Activity 2020-2021 ...... 11 7.0 Key Responsibilities & Confidentiality ...... 12 8.0 Prevention of Harm ...... 15 9.0 Vulnerable Students ...... 15 10.0 Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities ...... 16 11.0 Children Looked After and Previously Looked After Children ...... 16 12.0 Children Missing in Education ...... 17 13.0 Pupils Placed in Alternative Provision ...... 17 14.0 Pupils Accessing Home Tuition ...... 18 15.0 Recognising Signs of Abuse ...... 18 16.0 Contextual Safeguarding ...... 19 17.0 Domestic Abuse ...... 19 18.0 Child Sexual Exploitation ...... 20 19.0 Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) / Breast Ironing ...... 21 20.0 Forced Marriage ...... 22 21.0 Criminal Exploitation of Children/’County Lines’ ...... 22 22.0 Peer on Peer Abuse ...... 23 23.0 Child on Child Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment ...... 24 24.0 Serious Violence ...... 24 25.0 Prevent/Radicalisation ...... 25 26.0 Code of Conduct ...... 25 27.0 Physical Force ...... 25 28.0 Multi Agency Working ...... 26 29.0 Good Practice ...... 26 30.0 Managing Allegations Against Staff ...... 27 31.0 Supporting Staff ...... 31 32.0 Confidential Reporting and Whistleblowing ...... 32 33.0 Safer Recruitment ...... 32 34.0 Health and safety ...... 32 35.0 Off-site Educational Visits (OEVs) ...... 33 36.0 Online Safety ...... 33 37.0 Continuing Professional Development ...... 33 38.0 Curriculum statement ...... 34 39.0 Relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education ...... 34 40.0 Policy Review ...... 34 41.0 Safeguarding Guidance and Contacts ...... 34

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Appendix 1: Information for staff – What to do if you suspect abuse ...... 35 Appendix 2: Keeping Children Safe in Education information for all School Staff ...... 36 Appendix 3: Child Protection Flowchart EXAMPLE ...... 38 Appendix 4: Online Safety ...... 40 Appendix 5: Examples and definitions of the different type of abuse...... 41 Appendix 6: Vulnerability to Radicalisation and the Prevent Strategy ...... 43 Appendix 7: DBS Clarification ...... 45 Appendix 8: Forced Marriage Policy...... 50 Appendix 9: FGM Policy ...... 52 Appendix 10: Action following a report of sexual violence and/or sexual harassment...... 54 Appendix 11: Peer on Peer Abuse ...... 57 Appendix 12: Children Missing in Education ...... 58 Appendix 13: Additional Advice and Support ...... 61

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 1.0 Introduction This policy has been developed in accordance with the principles established by the Children’s Act 1989, the Education Act 2002 and the Children’s Act 2004 and in line with locally agreed guidance and procedures. The Beckfoot Trust and the Board of Directors take seriously their responsibilities under section 175 of the Education Act 2002 to safeguard and promote the welfare of children; and to work together with other agencies to ensure adequate arrangements within our schools to identify, assess and support those children and young people who are suffering harm.

All Trust schools should use this policy and build on it locally to ensure that their individual school procedures and protocols are reflected.

Legislation and non-statutory guidance relating to this policy: Children Act 1989 Education Act 1996 School Standards and Framework Act 1998 Education Act 2002 (Section 157/175) Children’s Act 2004 Keeping Children Safe in Education, 2020 Working Together to Safeguard Children, 2018 What to do if you are Worried a Child is Being Abused - Advice for Practitioners COVID-19: safeguarding in schools, colleges and other providers

COVID-19 Keeping Children Safe in Education (KCSIE) remains in force throughout the response to coronavirus (COVID-19). The Beckfoot Trust follows the non-statutory interim guidance on safeguarding in schools, colleges and other providers during the coronavirus outbreak. Trust staff should read this policy in conjunction with the Child Protection and Safeguarding COVID-19 Addendum V.2.0.

2.0 Ethos and Purpose Ethos: Improving outcomes for all children and young people underpins all of the development and work within Beckfoot Trust Schools. Safeguarding is considered everyone’s responsibility and as such our schools aim to create the safest environment within which every student has the opportunity to achieve. The schools recognise the contribution they can make in ensuring that all students registered or who use our schools feel that they will be listened to and appropriate action taken. We will do this by working in partnership with other agencies and seeking to establish effective working relationships with parents, carers and other colleagues to develop and provide activities and opportunities throughout our curricula that will help equip our students with the skills they need. This will include materials and learning experiences that will encourage our students to develop essential life skills and protective behaviours.

Purpose: This policy is to provide a secure framework for the workforce in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of those students who attend our schools. It is relevant to all school staff (including supply staff and volunteers) and all school staff should read it alongside DFE statutory guidance.

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is defined for the purposes of this policy as:

• protecting children from maltreatment;

• preventing impairment of children’s mental and physical health or development;

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 • ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and

• taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes.

The policy aims to ensure that: • We practice safe recruitment in checking the suitability of staff and volunteers to work with children. • We actively teach our children and young people about safeguarding and equip them with the skills needed to keep themselves safe. • Develop and implement procedures for identifying and reporting cases, or suspected cases of abuse. • Support students who have been abused in accordance with his/her agreed child protection plan. • Establish a safe environment in which students including those who are vulnerable can learn and develop. • Intervene early to offer early help. This means providing support as soon as a problem emerges at any point in a child’s life. Where a child would benefit from co-ordinated early help, an early help inter-agency assessment should be arranged. See Appendix 10.

Child Protection is the responsibility of all school staff. Beckfoot Trust Schools fully recognise their responsibilities for child protection and will therefore: • Establish and maintain an environment where children and young people feel secure, are encouraged to talk, and are listened to. • Ensure children and young people know there are adults in school whom they can approach if worried. • Include opportunities in the PSHE curriculum and through Relationships Education (primary schools) and Relationship and Sex Education (RSE- secondary schools) for students to develop the skills they need to recognise and stay safe from abuse.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 3.0 Beckfoot Trust Safeguarding Contacts / Procedures

Beckfoot Trust Board of Directors

The Board of Directors has a legal responsibility to make sure that the schools have an effective safeguarding policy, procedures in place and monitors that the schools comply with them. The Board has appointed Safeguarding Leads who have lead responsibility for dealing with all safeguarding issues in our schools. The Board will ensure that Safeguarding Leads for child protection attend the required training and that they refresh their training every two years. Our Board of Directors recognise that for this policy to be effective, it is essential that staff have an understanding of what safeguarding is, know how to access safeguarding information, know of any possible contribution that they may be required to make to safeguard our students and how to access further advice, support or services.

Director with responsibility for safeguarding - Jenny Cryer

Vice Safeguarding Director - Kim Tollervey

SEN, CLA and Vulnerable Disadvantaged Student Director - Sue Pierce

Vice SEN, CLA and Vulnerable Disadvantaged Student Director - Mike Kelly

The Director with responsibility for safeguarding attends the bi-annual Safeguarding briefings with the Designated Safeguarding Leads and the CIT Safeguarding Team.

Central Improvement Team Contacts and Monitoring Processes 2018-19

Adam Varley Rob Grimes Angela Spencer-Brooke Georgina Dyson (Compliance) (IT) (Trust Lead) (HR) Tel: 01274 207983 Tel: 01535 Tel: 01274 207435 Tel: 01274207987 email: [email protected] email: [email protected] email:[email protected] email: [email protected]

• Prevention of Harm • Risk Assessments • E-safety in Schools • Safer Recruitment inc. Single Central Register • Vulnerable Students • On-site Health and Safety • Trust Social Media and ICT Policy • Supporting Staff • Recognising Signs of Abuse • Off-site Educational Visits • Managing Allegations Against Staff • Peer on Peer Abuse • GDPR • Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) • Confidential Reporting and Whistleblowing • Forced Marriage • Children at Risk of Sexual Explotation (CSE) • Children Missing in Education(CME) • PREVENT • The Use of Physical Force • Child on Child Sexual Violence and Harrassment

MONITORING PROCESS MONITORING PROCESS MONITORING PROCESS MONITORING PROCESS

•Annual s175 Audit •Annual s175 Audit •Annual s175 Audit •Annual s175 Audit •Trust Autumn Reviews •Annual Risk Assessment Self •Firewall Activity Reports •Finacial Audit Audit •Desktop Monitoring •Interim HR audit •Annual Compliance Officer Visits •Every Compliance System/ Reports •GDPR Investigations/Audits as Needed

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Trust School Contacts 2019-20 (Designated Safeguarding Leads)

Beckfoot Allerton: Kate Horton [email protected] Beckfoot: Darren Cooley [email protected] Hazelbeck: Beth McPhail [email protected] Beckfoot Heaton: Zoe Mawson [email protected] Beckfoot Nessfield: Linda Hanson [email protected] : Debbie Hudson [email protected] Beckfoot Phoenix: Sarah Lloyd [email protected] Beckfoot Priestthorpe: Christina Gunning [email protected] : Andy Halliley [email protected] Beckfoot Upper Heaton: Michael Midgley [email protected]

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 4.0 Local School Safeguarding Contacts & Legislation

Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy “Putting the safety, well-being, development and progress of children and young people first. Being vigilant at all times”

The Safeguarding Leads for Child Protection are: Michael Midgley – Assistant Headteacher for Behaviour & Attitudes Alison Smith – Assistant Headteacher for Access & Inclusion Graeme Wrightson - Headteacher

The authorised Safeguarding Lead for Child Protection case work

Mike Midgley – Assistant Headteacher for Behaviour & Attitudes

The name of the designated person for Children Looked After Alison Smith – Assistant Headteacher for Access & Inclusion

Safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children is everyone’s responsibility. Everyone who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play. In order to fulfil this responsibility effectively, all practitioners should make sure their approach is child-centred. This means that they should consider, at all times, what is in the best interests of the child and remain vigilant to the signs of abuse.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 5.0 Bradford Local Authority Safeguarding Arrangements Working Together to Safeguard Children – The Bradford Partnership.

The Bradford Partnership are a multi-agency partnership established under the Children Act 2004 and subsequent legislation such as Working Together 2018. Their role is to monitor the quality and consistency of safeguarding practice and training across all our partner agencies, ensuring continuous improvement in practice and contributing to the broader planning, commissioning and delivery of services.

More information about The Bradford Partnership can be found here.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 6.0 Safeguarding Monitoring and Evaluation Activity 2020- 2021 Month Activity By whom?

July - ➢ Policy Review AS-B, GD, AV, RG September ➢ Share draft policy before 1 September

2020

September ➢ Policy Awareness: Part 1 KCSIE – all All staff 2020 staff (on Carval) ➢ Online training for new staff and those New starters, refreshers staff who need to refresh. ➢ Commence preparation for Section DSLs 175 Safeguarding Audit* ➢ Revised Trust Safeguarding Policy to AS-B and AV TEC (1/10/20) ➢ Safeguarding Health Check – Beckfoot AS-B/DM Nessfield -tbc ➢ C-POMS Trust Strategic Review ASB/KW/DM/TS ➢ DSL 1-day Refresher Training for Trust Commission from CBMDC DSLs - tbc

October ➢ DSL autumn briefing (22/10/20) Board Director for 2020 Safeguarding, CIT and DSLs CIT ➢ Schools submit completed Section 175 & DSLs Safeguarding to CIT for QA (23/10/20 DSLs tbc). Commission from CBMDC ➢ DSL 2-day Training for Trust staff new to role - tbc

November ➢ CIT to QA S.175 Safeguarding audits AS-B and AV 2020 and feedback to H/Ts and DSLs * ➢ Schools submit completed Section 175 DSL to LA and confirm to AV Safeguarding to LA* ➢ Revised Trust Policy and Safeguarding for ratification to Trust Jenny Cryer and Trust Board Board/Safeguarding Statistics 1 Members/KW- report to Trust (4/11/20) Board ➢ DSL to ensure all new staff trained and refresher training complete by DSLs 30/11/20

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 March/April ➢ Mid-year S.175 Safeguarding Audit AS-B and AV 2021 Reviews*

*Dates of Audit and associated work to be confirmed by the LA.

May 2021 ➢ Annual Safeguarding Report to the AS-B/CT -Presented by Director Trust Board/Safeguarding Statistics 2 for Safeguarding/KW - report (13/05/21) to Trust Board

➢ DSL 1-day Refresher Training for Trust Commissioned from CBMDC DSLs - tbc

June 2021 ➢ Summer Safeguarding Briefing for DSL Board Director for (24/06/21) Safeguarding, CIT and DSLs ➢ Bradford Safeguarding Week TBC ➢ DSL 2-day Training for staff new to Commissioned from CBMDC role - tbc

July 2021 ➢ Commence Trust Policy Review AS-B, AV, GD, RG

7.0 Key Responsibilities & Confidentiality The Board of Directors has a legal responsibility to make sure that the schools have an effective Safeguarding policy, procedures in place and monitors that the schools comply with them. The Board has appointed Safeguarding Leads who have lead responsibility for dealing with all safeguarding issues in our schools. The Board will ensure that Safeguarding Leads for Child Protection attend the required training and that they refresh their training every two years. Our Board of Directors recognise that for this policy to be effective, it is essential that staff have an understanding of what safeguarding is, know how to access safeguarding information, know of any possible contribution that they may be required to make to safeguard our students and how to access further advice, support or services

All designated staff will update their training every 2 years. All members of staff are provided with opportunities to receive appropriate training in order to develop their understanding of the signs and indicators of abuse and of the schools’ child protection procedures every year. Designated Safeguarding Lead’s role should appear in the job description of the member of staff performing the role.

All members of staff, volunteers and Board of Directors must know how to respond to a student who discloses abuse, and the procedure to be followed in appropriately sharing a concern of possible abuse or a disclosure of abuse. All staff are entitled to raise concerns directly with Children’s Social Care Services, however best practice is to alert the CP team. This training is included in the Trust induction procedures.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 All parents/carers are made aware of the schools’ responsibilities in regard to child protection procedures through publication of the Beckfoot Trust Child Protection and Safeguarding Policy. Community users organising activities for children are aware of and understand the need for compliance with the Trust child protection guidelines and procedures.

All staff responsible for our selection and recruitment procedures have completed the appropriate training. They are responsible for making appropriate checks on staff suitability, including Disclosure and Barring Service checks. (The Disclosure Barring Service (ISA) merged with the Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) to form the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) in December 2012) and for ensuring that we hold and upkeep a Single Central Record of all staff and regular volunteers in accordance with government guidance. See Appendix 7 – DBS Clarification. Section 128 checks will be completed where appropriate.

Our child protection and safeguarding policy and procedures will be reviewed annually and updated.

Safeguarding Lead’s Responsibilities The names of the Child Protection Teams for Trust Schools and a flowchart to support procedures will be displayed in the schools and be included in the schools’ website so that everyone (including parents and carers) are aware of who to talk to if they have concerns. The Safeguarding Leads will be a member of the Leadership Team and will:

• Follow the procedures set out in the MDC Safeguarding Procedures and take account of both national guidance issued by the Department of Education and local guidance. • contact by telephone the Children's Social Care Initial Contact Point: • During office hours (8.30am – 5pm Monday to Thursday, 4.30pm on Friday) call Children’s Social Services Initial Contact Point on 01274 437500 • At all other times, Social Services Emergency Duty Team on 01274 431010 • If you have reason to believe that a child is at IMMEDIATE RISK OF HARM, contact the police on 999 • For all general enquiries, please contact Children’s Specialist Services on 01274 435600 • in order to discuss the child protection concerns of possible abuse or neglect that the designated person has in connection with the student, being prepared to provide the student’s details and follow advice and guidance provided by the person handling the call and as in the guidance referred to above; • provide a written record of any formal referral to Children’s Social Care using the Common Referral form within 48 hours; • ensure that, where a formal referral has not been agreed other sources of support for the child will be considered including instigating a ‘Signs of Safety’ process; • ensure that written records of concerns about a child are kept even if there is no need to make an immediate referral; • ensure that all such records are kept confidentially and securely and are separate from student records, with a front sheet listing dates and brief entry to provide a chronology; • ensure that an indication of further ‘child protection related’ record keeping is marked on the student’s records; • act as a focal point for staff to discuss concerns and liaise with other agencies and practitioners; • act as a point of contact for the three safeguarding partners (The Bradford Partnership); • attend, (or delegate this requirement to another appropriately informed member of staff) child protection conferences, family support meetings, core groups, or other multi-agency planning meetings, contributing to the Framework for Assessment process, and provide a report for the conference which has been shared with parents;

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 • ensure that Children’s Social Care is notified immediately when any student subject of a Child Protection Plan is absent without explanation; • ensure that all school staff are aware of this policy and know how to recognise and refer any concerns; • complete, with the Headteachers’, an annual safeguarding audit to the Board of Directors which details any changes to the policy and procedures; training undertaken by the Child Protection Team and by all staff and Board of Directors; relevant curricular issues, number and type of incidents/cases, and the number of children referred to Children’s Social care and subject of a Child Protection Plan (anonymised). If this self-assessment highlights any areas for improvement, this will be detailed in the action plan which will be signed off and monitored by the Named Board member(s) for Safeguarding to ensure these improvements are implemented. • keep themselves up to date with knowledge to enable them to fulfil their role, including attending relevant training as recommended by the Safeguarding Partners (LA, CCG, Police); and • support the Headteachers’ in implementing all recommendations applicable to schools and education services arising from The Bradford Partnership review panels.

What School Staff Should Look Out For

Any child may benefit from early help, but all Trust staff should be particularly alert to the potential need for early help for a child who:

• is disabled and has specific additional needs • has special educational needs (whether or not they have a statutory education, health and care plan) • is a young carer • is showing signs of being drawn in to anti-social or criminal behaviour, including gang involvement and association with organised crime groups • is frequently missing/goes missing from care or from home • is at risk of modern slavery, trafficking or exploitation • is at risk of being radicalised or exploited • is in a family circumstance presenting challenges for the child, such as drug and alcohol misuse, adult mental health issues and domestic abuse • is misusing drugs or alcohol themselves • has returned home to their family from care • is a privately fostered child

Confidentiality • We recognise that all matters relating to child protection are confidential; • The Headteachers or Designated Persons will disclose personal information about a student to other members of staff on a ‘need to know basis’ only; • All staff must be aware that they have a professional responsibility to share information with other agencies in order to safeguard children; • All staff must be aware that they cannot promise a child to keep secrets which might compromise the child’s safety or well-being, or that of another; • All staff should be aware of their local early help process and understand their role in it. • We will always intend to tell parents of our intention to refer a child to Children’s Social Care with their parents/carers, unless to do so could put the child at greater risk of harm or impede a criminal investigation. If in doubt, we will consult with the Children's Social Care Initial Contact Point. 14

Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20

8.0 Prevention of Harm We recognise that Trust Schools’ play a significant part in the prevention of harm to our students by providing them with effective lines of communication with trusted adults, supportive friends and an ethos of protection. Trust Schools’ will support all students by:

• Establishing and maintaining an ethos which enables children to feel secure and encourages them to talk, knowing that they will be listened to; • Promoting a caring, safe and positive environment within Trust Schools, ensuring that all children know that there is an adult in the school whom they can approach if they are worried or in difficulty; • Providing across the curriculum, including within PSHE and RSE, opportunities which equip children with the skills they need to stay safe from harm and to know to whom they should turn for help; • Encouraging the development of self-esteem and resilience in every aspect of school life including through the curriculum; • Liaising and working together with all other support services and those agencies involved in the safeguarding of children; • Ensuring that a named teacher is designated for Children Looked After (CLA) and that a list is regularly reviewed and updated; • Providing continuing support to a student who leaves the school and about whom there have been child protection concerns, by ensuring that such concerns and school medical records are forwarded under confidential cover to the Head at the student’s new school or to Adult Services as a matter of urgency; • Recognising that children come from a variety of different cultural backgrounds and as a result have developed policies to ensure that we embrace diversity in religion and faith, race, ethnicity, gender and sexual orientation. Each school within the Trust reserves the right to monitor the use of its ICT systems to ensure staff and young people will be responsible users and stay safe while using the internet and other digital technologies for educational, personal and recreational use.

9.0 Vulnerable Students Anyone attending Trust Schools’ aged 2-19 years are considered to be covered by this policy because of their vulnerability, whether they are a child or a young adult. We are aware that many children and young people are the victims of different kinds of abuse and that they can be subjected to social factors that have an adverse impact upon their lives, such as domestic abuse or internet misuse.

We recognise that children who need a social worker (Child in Need and Child Protection Plans) are potentially at greater risk of harm. Children may need a social worker due to safeguarding or welfare needs. Children may need this help due to abuse, neglect and complex family circumstances. A child’s experiences of adversity and trauma can leave them vulnerable to further harm, as well as educationally disadvantaged in facing barriers to attendance, learning, behaviour and mental health. Trust designated safeguarding leads should routinely liaise and share information with social workers so that decisions can be made in the best interests of the child’s safety, welfare and educational outcomes. Where children need a social worker, this should inform decisions about safeguarding (for example, responding to unauthorised absence or missing education where there are known safeguarding risks) and about promoting welfare (for example, considering the provision of pastoral and/or academic support, alongside action by statutory services).

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 We will carry out Vulnerable Student Risk Assessments where necessary to ensure risk is controlled and suitable a support plan is in place.

10.0 Children requiring Mental Health Support Trust staff should also be aware that mental health problems can, in some cases, be an indicator that a child or young person has suffered or is at risk of suffering abuse, neglect or exploitation. Only appropriately trained professionals should attempt to make a diagnosis of a mental health problem. However, school staff are well placed to observe children day-to-day and identify those whose behaviour suggests that they may be experiencing a mental health problem or be at risk of developing one. Where children have suffered abuse and neglect, or other potentially traumatic adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), this can have a lasting impact throughout childhood, adolescence and into adulthood. It is key that staff are aware of how these children’s experiences, can impact on their mental health, behaviour and education. If staff have a mental health concern about a child that is also a safeguarding concern, immediate action should be taken, following their child protection policy and speaking to the designated safeguarding lead or a deputy. There are a range of evidence based tools to support school staff in identifying possible mental health problems produced by the Anna Freud Centre and UCL. Concerns about pupil mental should be escalated to the senior lead in school with responsibility for pupil well-being and appropriate referrals in consultation with pupils and parents/carers made to access internal support or external agency help.

10.0 Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Children with special educational needs (SEN) and disabilities can face additional safeguarding challenges. All staff should recognise the fact that additional barriers can exist when recognising abuse and neglect in this group of children. These can include: • assumptions that indicators of possible abuse such as behaviour, mood and injury relate to the child’s disability without further exploration; • being more prone to peer group isolation than other children; • the potential for children with SEN and disabilities being disproportionally impacted by behaviours such as bullying, without outwardly showing any signs; and • communication barriers and difficulties in overcoming these barriers. To address these additional challenges, schools and colleges should consider extra pastoral support for children with SEN and disabilities.

11.0 Children Looked After and Previously Looked After Children The most common reason for children becoming looked after is as a result of abuse and/or neglect. The Trust Board and the Headteachers will ensure that staff have the skills, knowledge and understanding to keep Children Looked After safe. They will ensure that appropriate staff have the information they need in relation to a child’s looked after legal status (whether they are looked after under voluntary arrangements with consent of parents or on an interim or full care order) and the child’s contact arrangements with birth parents or those with parental responsibility. Key staff will also have information about the child’s care arrangements and the levels of authority delegated to the carer by the authority looking after him/her.

The designated safeguarding lead will have details of the child’s social worker and the name of the virtual school head in the authority that looks after the child. A previously looked after child 16

Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 potentially remains vulnerable and all staff should have the skills, knowledge and understanding to keep previously Children Looked After safe and will take prompt action whenever there is a concern to notify and work with partner agencies.

12.0 Children Missing in Education There is general agreement that some children who have experienced certain life events are more at risk of going missing from education. These include:

• young people who have committed offences; • children living in women’s refuges; • children of homeless families perhaps living in temporary accommodation, house of multiple occupancy or Bed and Breakfast; • young runaways; • children with long term medical or emotional problems; • unaccompanied asylum seekers and refugees or children of asylum seeking families; • looked after children; • children with a Gypsy/Traveller background; • young carers; • children from transient families; • teenage mothers; • children who are permanently excluded from school.

Trust Schools should have appropriate procedures in place to report children who go missing from education, particularly on repeat occasions, to help identify the risk of abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse or exploitation, and to help prevent the risks of their going missing in future. All schools should follow the Bradford Council reporting procedures which can be accessed through the following link: https://bso.bradford.gov.uk/Schools/CMSPage.aspx?mid=50.

Please see Appendix 12: Children Missing in Education and Trust and Local School Attendance Policies. Schools should hold more than one set of contact details for pupils to ensure that a responsible adult can be contacted if there are welfare or safeguarding concerns and should endeavour to record the details of the school that children transfer from particularly if it is our of area or overseas.

Schools will make reasonable enquiries to ascertain the whereabouts of children who are missing school and will inform the Local Authority thorough the electronic referral system. Schools will liaise with the LA in relation to LA enquiries to ascertain the whereabouts of missing children and agree the point at which a pupil will be taken off roll.

13.0 Pupils Placed in Alternative Provision Where a Trust school places a pupil with an alternative provision provider, the school is responsible for the suitability and safeguarding of that pupil and should be satisfied that the provider meets the needs of the pupil. School leaders should make the appropriate checks on the registration status of the alternative provider. Schools should obtain written confirmation from the alternative provider that appropriate safeguarding checks have been carried out on individuals working at the establishment, i.e. those checks that the school would otherwise perform in respect of its own staff and that the provision have declared that they have safer recruitment practices in place. Schools should be able to evidence that they undertake quality assurance of provisions used. Pupils attending alternative provision should be registered with code B only for the times that they are

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 accessing education on-site at the registered provision and code C for all other times if pupils are placed on an agreed partial timetable.

14.0 Pupils Accessing Home Tuition Pupils who are temporarily receiving home tuition from TRACKS Education remain on the roll of Trust schools who continue to be responsible for the safeguarding of that pupil. Trust schools should remain in regular contact with the parents/carers and pupils, TRACKS Education home tutor, the Local Authority, CAMHS and social care colleagues and engage in multi-agency dialogue and meetings to support reintegration back to school or transition on to more appropriate educational provision. Pupils should be registered with code B only for the times that they are accessing education from a qualified practitioner and C code for the remaining sessions.

15.0 Recognising Signs of Abuse All staff should be aware that abuse, neglect and safeguarding issues are rarely standalone events that can be covered by one definition or label. In most cases, multiple issues will overlap with one another.

All staff should be aware of indicators of abuse and neglect so that they are able to identify cases of children who may be in need of help or protection. Indicators of abuse and neglect. DFE advice What to Do if You Are Worried a Child is Being Abused - Advice for Practitioners provides more information on understanding and identifying abuse and neglect. The NSPCC website also provides useful additional information on abuse and neglect and what to look out for at: https://www.nspcc.org.uk/what-you-can-do/report-abuse/dedicated-helplines/whistleblowing- advice-line/

All Trust staff should be aware that safeguarding incidents and/or behaviours can be associated with factors outside the school or college and/or can occur between children outside of these environments. All staff, but especially the designated safeguarding lead (and deputies) should consider whether children are at risk of abuse or exploitation in situations outside their families. Extra-familial harms take a variety of different forms and children can be vulnerable to multiple harms including (but not limited to) sexual exploitation, criminal exploitation, and serious youth violence.

All staff working with children are advised to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ where safeguarding is concerned. When concerned about the welfare of a child, staff should always act immediately in the best interests of the child. Knowing what to look for is vital to the early identification of abuse and neglect. If staff are unsure, they should always speak to the designated safeguarding lead (or deputy). If any member of staff has any concerns about a child’s welfare, they should act on them immediately.

Children may behave strangely or seem unhappy for many reasons, as they move through the stages of childhood or their families experience changes. It is nevertheless important to know what could indicate that abuse is taking place to be alert to the need to consult further. Someone can abuse a child by actively inflicting harm or by failing to act to prevent harm. Abuse can take place within a family, in an institutional or community setting, by telephone or on the Internet. Abuse can be carried out by someone known to a child or young person, or by a complete stranger.

Examples and definitions of the different type of abuse are enclosed in Appendix 5.

Any member of staff can report a concern. Staff should act immediately if they have a concern about a child or young person. 18

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Staff should not assume a colleague or another professional will take action and share information that might be critical in keeping children safe. They should be mindful that early information sharing is vital for effective identification, assessment and allocation of appropriate service provision. Information Sharing: Advice for Practitioners Providing Safeguarding Services to Children, Young People, Parents and Carers supports staff who have to make decisions about sharing information. This advice includes the seven golden rules for sharing information and considerations with regard to the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). If in any doubt about sharing information, staff should speak to the designated safeguarding lead or a deputy. Fears about sharing information must not be allowed to stand in the way of the need to promote the welfare, and protect the safety, of children.

16.0 Contextual Safeguarding All staff should have an awareness of safeguarding issues that can put children at risk of harm. Behaviours linked to issues such as drug taking, alcohol abuse, deliberately missing education and sexting (also known as youth produced sexual imagery) put children in danger.

As individuals move from early childhood and into adolescence they spend increasing amounts of time socialising independently of their families. During this time the nature of young people’s schools and neighbourhoods, and the relationships that they form in these settings, inform the extent to which they encounter protection or abuse. Evidence shows that, for example: from robbery on public transport, sexual violence in parks and gang related violence on streets, through to online bullying and harassment from school-based peers and abuse within their intimate relationships, young people encounter significant harm in a range of settings beyond their families.

Contextual Safeguarding is an approach to understanding, and responding to, young people’s experiences of significant harm beyond their families. It recognises that the different relationships that young people form in their neighbourhoods, schools and online can feature violence and abuse. Parents and carers have little influence over these contexts, and young people’s experiences of extra- familial abuse can undermine parent-child relationships. Therefore children’s social care practitioners need to engage with individuals and sectors who do have influence over/within extra-familial contexts, and recognise that assessment of, and intervention with, these spaces are a critical part of safeguarding practices. Contextual Safeguarding, therefore, expands the objectives of child protection systems in recognition that young people are vulnerable to abuse in a range of social contexts.

The Beckfoot Trust is committed to ensuring that each school understands the contextual safeguarding issues within its own community and seeks to support and develop relationships outside of the school with pupils their families and appropriate agencies to invest in the safety of pupils. The safeguarding curriculum in each school should be proactive and bespoke and reflect the context of the school and its community.

For more information cut and paste the link below: https://www.contextualsafeguarding.org.uk/assets/documents/Contextual-Safeguarding-Briefing.pdf

17.0 Domestic Abuse Trust staff need to particularly vigilant for the signs that a child or young person might be experiencing domestic abuse which has seen a significant rise locally and nationally over the last six months. 19

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The cross-government definition of domestic violence and abuse is: any incident or pattern of incidents of controlling, coercive, threatening behaviour, violence or abuse between those aged 16 or over who are, or have been, intimate partners or family members regardless of gender or sexuality. The abuse can encompass, but is not limited to: psychological; physical; sexual; financial; and emotional.

All children can witness and be adversely affected by domestic abuse in the context of their home life where domestic abuse occurs between family members. Exposure to domestic abuse and/or violence can have a serious, long lasting emotional and. In some cases, a child may blame themselves for the abuse or may have had to leave the family home as a result.

Operation Encompass Operation Encompass which operates in Bradford and in the majority of police forces across England helps police and schools work together to provide emotional and practical help to children. The system ensures that when police are called to an incident of domestic abuse, where there are children in the household who have experienced the domestic incident, the police will inform the key adult (usually the designated safeguarding lead) in school before the child or children arrive at school the following day. This ensures that the school has up to date relevant information about the child’s circumstances and can enable support to be given to the child according to their needs.

National Domestic Abuse Helpline Refuge runs the National Domestic Abuse Helpline, which can be called free of charge and in confidence, 24 hours a day on 0808 2000 247. Its website provides guidance and support for potential victims, as well as those who are worried about friends and loved ones. It also has a form through which a safe time from the team for a call can be booked.

Additional advice on identifying children who are affected by domestic abuse and how they can be helped is available at: • NSPCC- UK domestic-abuse Signs Symptoms Effects • Refuge what is domestic violence/effects of domestic violence on children • SafeLives: young people and domestic abuse.

18.0 Child Sexual Exploitation CSE occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance of power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child into sexual activity (a) in exchange for something the victim needs or wants, and/or (b) for the financial advantage or increased status of the perpetrator or facilitator. The victim may have been sexually exploited even if the sexual activity appears consensual. CSE does not always involve physical contact; it can also occur through the use of technology. CSE can affect any child or young person (male or female) under the age of 18 years, including 16 and 17 year olds who can legally consent to have sex. It can include both contact (penetrative and non-penetrative acts) and non-contact sexual activity and may occur without the child or young person’s immediate knowledge (e.g. through others copying videos or images they have created and posted on social media). The above CCE indicators can also be indicators of CSE, as can: • children who have older boyfriends or girlfriends; and • children who suffer from sexually transmitted infections or become pregnant.

Like all forms of child sexual abuse, child sexual exploitation:

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For more information cut and paste the link below: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/ 591903/CSE_Guidance_Core_Document_13.02.2017.pdf

19.0 Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) / Breast Ironing Female genital mutilation is a collective term for all procedures involving the partial or total removal of external female genitalia for cultural or other non-therapeutic reasons. The procedure is typically performed on girls aged between four and 13 years. FGM is illegal in the UK and causes physical, psychological and sexual harm. Designated Safeguarding Leads for child protection are aware of the guidance that is available in respect of FGM and are vigilant to the risk of it being practised as well as raising the awareness of this with all staff, particularly those staff who are involved in the intimate personal care of our students.

Female Genital Mutilation mandatory reporting duty for teachers Whilst all staff should speak to the designated safeguarding lead (or deputy) with regard to any concerns about female genital mutilation (FGM), there is a specific legal duty on teachers. If a teacher, in the course of their work in the profession, discovers that an act of FGM appears to have been carried out on a girl under the age of 18, the teacher must report this to the police. See Appendix 9 - Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

Breast Ironing (Awareness raising – Taken from - Andrew Hall: Safeguarding in Schools website)

What is breast ironing? Breast Ironing is practiced in some African countries, notably Cameroon. Girls aged between 9 and 15 have hot pestles, stones or other implements rubbed on their developing breast to stop them growing further. In the vast majority of cases breast ironing is carried out by mothers or grandmothers and the men in the family are unaware. Estimates range between 25% and 50% of girls in Cameroon are affected by breast ironing, affecting up to 3.8 million women across Africa.

Why does breast ironing happen? The practice of breast ironing is seen as a protection to girls by making them seem ‘child-like’ for longer and reduce the likelihood of pregnancy. Once girls’ breasts have developed, they are at risk of sexual harassment, rape, forced marriage and kidnapping; consequently, breast ironing is more prevalent in cities. Cameroon has one of the highest rates of literacy in Africa and ensuring that girls remain in education is seen as an important outcome of breast ironing.

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Breast ironing is physical abuse. Breast ironing is a form of physical abuse that has been condemned by the United Nations and identified as Gender-based Violence. Although, countries where breast ironing is prevalent have ratified the African Charter on Human Rights to prevent harmful traditional practices, it is not against the law. Breast ironing does not stop the breasts from growing, but development can be slowed down. Damage caused by the ‘ironing’ can leave women with malformed breasts, difficulty breastfeeding or producing milk, severe chest pains, infections and abscesses. In some cases, it may be related to the onset of breast cancer.

Breast Ironing in the UK. Concerns have been raised that breast ironing is also to be found amongst African communities in the UK, with as many as a 1,000 girls at risk. Keeping Children Safe in Education (2016) mentions breast ironing on page 54, as part of the section on so-called ‘Honour Violence’. Staff worried about the risk of breast ironing in their school should speak to the Designated Safeguarding Lead as soon as possible. Schools need to know the risk level within their communities and tackle the risk as appropriate.

20.0 Forced Marriage A forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of young people with learning or physical disabilities, cannot) consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used. The pressure put on people to marry against their will can be physical (including threats, actual physical violence and sexual violence) or emotional and psychological (for example, when someone is made to feel like they’re bringing shame on their family). Financial abuse (taking your wages or not giving you any money) can also be a factor.

Multi-agency practice guidelines – Forced Marriage

Practice guidelines have been developed by the Forced Marriage Unit to help practitioners dealing with forced marriage of people with learning disabilities.

The guidance was developed with learning disability charities (the Ann Craft Trust and the Judith Trust). It is designed to help raise awareness of the issue and support practitioners in identifying the warning signs of this complex and often hidden practice. The guidelines also explain what practitioners should do in these cases.

An e-learning training package has been developed to support practitioners, including education, social and health care practitioners, police officers, housing officers, the voluntary sector and others dealing with forced marriage in the course of their work. See Appendix 8 - Forced Marriage.

21.0 Criminal Exploitation of Children/’County Lines’ As with Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE), Child Criminal Exploitation (CCE) is a form of abuse and occurs where an individual or group takes advantage of an imbalance in power to coerce, manipulate or deceive a child into sexual or criminal activity. Whilst age may be the most obvious, this power imbalance can also be due to a range of other factors including gender, sexual identity, cognitive ability, physical strength, status, and access to economic or other resources. In some cases, the abuse will be in exchange for something the victim needs or wants and/or will be to the financial benefit or other advantage (such as increased status) of the perpetrator or facilitator. The abuse can be perpetrated by individuals or groups, males or females, and children or adults. The abuse can be a

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 one-off occurrence or a series of incidents over time, and range from opportunistic to complex organised abuse. It can involve force and/or enticement-based methods of compliance and may, or may not, be accompanied by violence or threats of violence. Victims can be exploited even when activity appears consensual and it should be noted exploitation as well as being physical can be facilitated and/or take place online.

CCE can include children being forced to work in cannabis factories, being coerced into moving drugs or money across the country, forced to shoplift or pickpocket, or to threaten other young people. Some of the following can be indicators of CCE:

• children who appear with unexplained gifts or new possessions; • children who associate with other young people involved in exploitation; • children who suffer from changes in emotional well-being; • children who misuse drugs and alcohol; • children who go missing for periods of time or regularly come home late; and • children who regularly miss school or education or do not take part in education.

All staff should be aware of the signs that a child or young person is being exploited by criminal gangs and activity relating to the specific method of drug supply commonly referred to as ‘county lines’. County lines relates to the supply of class A drugs (primarily crack cocaine and heroin) from an urban hub into rural towns or county locations. This is facilitated by a group who may not necessarily be affiliated as a gang, but who have developed networks across geographical boundaries to access and exploit existing drugs markets in these areas.

A young person’s involvement in county lines activity often leaves signs. A person might exhibit some of these signs, either as a member or as an associate of a gang dealing drugs. Any sudden changes in a person’s lifestyle should be discussed with them. Some potential indicators of county lines involvement and exploitation are listed below, with those at the top of particular concern: • persistently going missing from school or home and / or being found out-of-area; • unexplained acquisition of money, clothes, or mobile phones • excessive receipt of texts / phone calls and/or having multiple handsets • relationships with controlling / older individuals or groups • leaving home / care without explanation • suspicion of physical assault / unexplained injuries.

22.0 Peer on Peer Abuse Children can abuse other children. This is generally referred to as peer on peer abuse and can take many forms. This can include (but is not limited to) bullying (including cyberbullying); sexual violence and sexual harassment; *upskirting; physical abuse such as hitting, kicking, shaking, biting, hair pulling, or otherwise causing physical harm; sexting and initiating/hazing type violence and rituals. See Appendix 11 for the Trust’s approach to responding to Peer on Peer abuse.

*Upskirting – typically involves taking a picture under a person’s clothing without them knowing with the intention of viewing their genitals or buttocks to obtain sexual gratification or cause the victim humiliation, distress or harm. It is now a criminal offence.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 23.0 Child on Child Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment Context Sexual violence and sexual harassment can occur between two children of any age and sex. It can also occur through a group of children sexually assaulting or sexually harassing a single child or group of children. Children who are victims of sexual violence and sexual harassment will likely find the experience stressful and distressing. This will, in all likelihood, adversely affect their educational attainment.

Sexual violence and sexual harassment exist on a continuum and may overlap, they can occur online and offline (both physical and verbal) and are never acceptable. It is important that all victims are taken seriously and offered appropriate support. Staff should be aware that some groups are potentially more at risk. Evidence shows girls, children with SEND and LGBT children are at greater risk.

All Trust Staff should be aware of the importance of: • making clear that sexual violence and sexual harassment is not acceptable, will never be tolerated and is not an inevitable part of growing up; • not tolerating or dismissing sexual violence or sexual harassment as “banter”, “part of growing up”, “just having a laugh” or “boys being boys”; and • challenging behaviours (potentially criminal in nature), such as grabbing bottoms, breasts and genitalia, flicking bras and lifting up skirts. Dismissing or tolerating such behaviours risks normalising them.

Reporting sexual violence or sexual harassment The initial response to a report from a child is important. It is essential that trust staff reassure all victims that they are being taken seriously and that they will be supported and kept safe. A victim should never be given the impression that they are creating a problem. It is important that all school staff (and especially designated safeguarding leads and their deputies) understand consent. This will be especially important if a child is reporting they have been raped. Nor should a victim ever be made to feel ashamed for making a report. If staff have a concern about a child or a child makes a report to them, they should follow the referral process as set out in Appendix 11 of this policy. Where the report includes an online element, being aware of searching screening and confiscation advice (for schools) and UKCCIS sexting advice (for schools and colleges). The key consideration is for staff not to view or forward illegal images of a child. The highlighted advice provides more details on what to do when viewing an image is unavoidable. If possible, staff should manage reports with two members of staff present, (preferably one of them being the designated safeguarding lead or a deputy). As is always the case, if staff are in any doubt as to what to do they should speak to the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy).

24.0 Serious Violence All Trust staff should be aware of indicators, which may signal that children are at risk from, or are involved with serious violent crime. These may include: ➢ increased absence from school, ➢ a change in friendships or relationships with older individuals or groups, ➢ a significant decline in performance, ➢ signs of self-harm or a significant change in wellbeing, or ➢ signs of assault or unexplained injuries. Unexplained gifts or new possessions could also indicate that children have been approached by, or are involved with, individuals associated with criminal networks or gangs. 30. All staff should be aware of the associated risks and understand the measures in place to manage these. Advice for

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 schools and colleges is provided in the Home Office’s Preventing youth violence and gang involvement and its Criminal exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: county lines guidance. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/ 418131/Preventing_youth_violence_and_gang_involvement_v3_March2015.pdf

25.0 Prevent/Radicalisation The Board recognises its duty to protect our students from indoctrination into any form of extreme ideology which may lead to the harm of self or others. This is particularly important because of the open access to electronic information through the internet. Trust Schools’ aim to safeguard young people through educating them on the appropriate use of social media and the dangers of downloading and sharing inappropriate material which is illegal under the Counter-Terrorism Act.

The Trust vets all visitors carefully and will take firm action if any individual or group is perceived to be attempting to influence members of our Trust School communities, either physically or electronically. Our definition of radical or extreme ideology is a ‘set of ideas which could justify vilification or violence against individuals, groups or self’. Staff are trained to be vigilant for spotting signs of extremist views and behaviours and to always report anything which may suggest a student is expressing opinions which may cause concern. Our core mission of diversity permeates all we do. We place a strong emphasis on the common values that all communities share such as self-respect, tolerance and the sanctity of life. We work hard to broaden our students’ experience, to prepare them for life and work in contemporary Britain. We teach them to respect and value the diversity around them as well as understanding how to make safe, well-considered decisions.

We will ensure that staff are aware of the risks to children and young people of being radicalised and provide WRAP (Workshop to raise awareness of prevent) training, which will be refreshed every three years, for all staff who work with students.

See Appendix 6 - Vulnerability to radicalisation or extreme viewpoints and PREVENT Flowchart.

26.0 Code of Conduct Please refer to the Trust Code of Conduct Policy.

27.0 Physical Force Our policy on the use of physical force can be found in our overarching policies for Care and Control. They are compliant with the non-statutory Use of Reasonable Force advice from the Department for Education July 2013. It is intended to provide clarification on the use of force to help school staff feel more confident about using this power when they feel it is necessary and to make clear the responsibilities of head teachers and Board of Directors in respect of this power. We have a procedure in place for recording each significant incident in which a member of staff uses force on a student, and for the reporting of these incidents to the student’s parents as soon as practicable after the incident.

Staff that need to use physical intervention are appropriately trained. We understand that physical intervention of a nature that causes injury or distress to a child may be reviewed under child protection or disciplinary procedures.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 28.0 Multi Agency Working Trust schools will contribute to multi-agency working in line with statutory guidance Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 alongside the three safeguarding partners and will have a shared and equal duty to work together to safeguard and promote the welfare of children.

New safeguarding partners and child death review partner arrangements are to be in place by 29 September 2019. In Bradford, The Bradford Partnership , made up of the three safeguarding, clinical commissioning group and the chief of police) will make arrangements to work together with schools and other relevant agencies to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, including identifying and responding to their needs. Please refer to previous information on how The Bradford Partnership will work.

INFORMATION SHARING

Information sharing is vital in identifying and tackling all forms of abuse and neglect. As part of meeting a child’s needs, Beckfoot Trust Board of Directors recognise the importance of information sharing between practitioners and local agencies. Protocols and procedures are in place that set out clearly the process and principles for sharing information within our schools and with the three safeguarding partners, other organisations, agencies and practitioners as required. Trust School staff should be proactive in sharing information as early as possible to help identify, assess and respond to risks or concerns about the safety and welfare of children, whether this is when problems are first emerging, or where a child is already known to local authority children’s social care. Records will be retained in accordance with the Trust Records Management Policy.

Data Protection Act 2018 and GDPR do not prevent, or limit, the sharing of information for the purposes of keeping children safe. Fears about sharing information must not be allowed to stand in the way of the need to promote the welfare and protect the safety of children.

29.0 Good Practice • All staff are responsible for all students whilst on these premises and must make sure that health and safety guidelines are adhered to; • All staff working with students should receive basic child protection training; • Under no circumstances should visitors be allowed to wander around the premises unaccompanied when children and young people are present; • All staff should be alert to strangers frequently waiting outside school with no apparent purpose. • It is also occasionally necessary for Trust Schools to refuse access to the premises to any person who is considered to be ‘unsuitable to work with children’. This may be because of concerns held that they may behave in a manner that is irresponsible or unsafe in some way; • In the event that the Trust School’s premises are used by other organisations, the letting agreement should ensure that the hiring organisation agree to abide by these guidelines; • Vulnerable students should not be released for collection by people other than their parents, carers or transport escorts unless notification has been received. • All drivers should travel with at least one escort except in circumstances agreed by the Headteacher and parents. Drivers and escorts should have up to date DBS checks and been subject to appropriate recruitment procedures. All drivers and escorts should agree to abide by these guidelines.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 30.0 Managing Allegations Against Staff This policy applies to all cases in which it is alleged that a current member of staff, including a supply teacher or volunteer, has:

Behaved in a way that has harmed a child, or may have harmed a child, or Possibly committed a criminal offence against or related to a child, or Behaved towards a child or children in a way that indicates he or she may pose a risk of harm to children, or Behaved or may have behaved in a way that indicates they may not be suitable to work with children It applies regardless of whether the alleged abuse took place in the school. Allegations against a teacher who is no longer teaching and historical allegations of abuse must be referred to the police.

Any allegation of abuse against a member of staff or volunteer will be dealt with quickly, in a fair and consistent way that provides effective child protection while also supporting the individual who is the subject of the allegation.

Our procedures for dealing with allegations will be applied with common sense and judgement.

Suspension of the accused until the case is resolved Suspension will not be the default position, and will only be considered in cases where there is reason to suspect that a child or other children is/are at risk of harm, or the case is so serious that it might be grounds for dismissal. In such cases, the school will suspend an employee if we have considered all other options available and there is no reasonable alternative.

Note: Schools are not permitted to suspend someone not directly employed by the school such as supply staff provided by an agency when an allegation or concern is made. School must liaise with the agency for them to decide to suspend. Please contact the HR Advisory service for advice.

Based on an assessment of risk, we will consider alternatives such as:

Redeployment within the school so that the individual does not have direct contact with the child or children concerned Providing an assistant to be present when the individual has contact with children Redeploying the individual to alternative work in the school so that they do not have unsupervised access to children Moving the child or children to classes where they will not come into contact with the individual, making it clear that this is not a punishment and parents have been consulted Temporarily redeploying the individual to another role in a different location, for example to an alternative school within the Trust.

Definitions for outcomes of allegation investigations Substantiated: there is sufficient evidence to prove the allegation Malicious: there is sufficient evidence to disprove the allegation and there has been a deliberate act to deceive False: there is sufficient evidence to disprove the allegation Unsubstantiated: there is insufficient evidence to either prove or disprove the allegation (this does not imply guilt or innocence)

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Unfounded: to reflect cases where there is no evidence or proper basis which supports the allegation being made

Procedure for dealing with allegations In the event of an allegation that meets the criteria above, the headteacher (or chair of directors where the headteacher is the subject of the allegation) – the ‘case manager’ – will take the following steps:

Immediately discuss the allegation with the designated officer at the local authority (LADO). This is to consider the nature, content and context of the allegation and agree a course of action, including whether further enquiries are necessary to enable a decision on how to proceed, and whether it is necessary to involve the police and/or children’s social care services. (The case manager may, on occasion, consider it necessary to involve the police before consulting the designated officer – for example, if the accused individual is deemed to be an immediate risk to children or there is evidence of a possible criminal offence. In such cases, the case manager will notify the designated officer as soon as practicably possible after contacting the police) Inform the accused individual of the concerns or allegations and likely course of action as soon as possible after speaking to the designated officer (and the police or children’s social care services, where necessary). Where the police and/or children’s social care services are involved, the case manager will only share such information with the individual as has been agreed with those agencies Where appropriate (in the circumstances described above), carefully consider whether suspension of the individual from contact with children at the school is justified or whether alternative arrangements such as those outlined above can be put in place. Advice will be sought from the designated officer, police and/or children’s social care services, as appropriate Refer to the Trust Staff Discipline, Conduct and Grievance Policy: - If immediate suspension is considered necessary, agree and record the rationale for this with the designated officer. The record will include information about the alternatives to suspension that have been considered, and why they were rejected. Written confirmation of the suspension will be provided to the individual facing the allegation or concern within 1 working day, and the individual will be given a named contact at the school and their contact details - If it is decided that no further action is to be taken in regard to the subject of the allegation or concern, record this decision and the justification for it and agree with the designated officer what information should be put in writing to the individual and by whom, as well as what action should follow both in respect of the individual and those who made the initial allegation - If it is decided that further action is needed, take steps as agreed with the designated officer to initiate the appropriate action in school and/or liaise with the police and/or children’s social care services as appropriate Inform the parents or carers of the child/children involved about the allegation as soon as possible if they do not already know (following agreement with children’s social care services and/or the police, if applicable). The case manager will also inform the parents or carers of the requirement to maintain confidentiality about any allegations made against teachers (where this applies) while investigations are ongoing. Any parent or carer who wishes to have the confidentiality restrictions removed in respect of a teacher will be advised to seek legal advice Keep the parents or carers of the child/children involved informed of the progress of the case and the outcome, where there is not a criminal prosecution, including the outcome of any disciplinary process (in confidence) Make a referral to the DBS where it is thought that the individual facing the allegation or concern has engaged in conduct that harmed or is likely to harm a child, or if the individual otherwise poses a risk of harm to a child Early years providers:

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 We will inform Ofsted of any allegations of serious harm or abuse by any person living, working, or looking after children at the premises (whether the allegations relate to harm or abuse committed on the premises or elsewhere), and any action taken in respect of the allegations. This notification will be made as soon as reasonably possible and always within 14 days of the allegations being made.

All schools If the school is made aware that the secretary of state has made an interim prohibition order in respect of an individual, we will immediately suspend that individual from teaching, pending the findings of the investigation by the Teaching Regulation Agency.

Where the police are involved, wherever possible the school will ask the police at the start of the investigation to obtain consent from the individuals involved to share their statements and evidence for use in the school’s disciplinary process, should this be required at a later point.

Additional considerations for supply staff If there are concerns or an allegation is made against someone not directly employed by the school, such as supply staff provided by an agency, the following actions below will be taken in addition to our standard procedures. School will not automatically decide to stop using a supply teacher due to safeguarding concerns without finding out the facts and liaising with our local authority designated officer to determine a suitable outcome School will discuss with the agency whether it is appropriate for them to suspend to suspend the supply teacher, to send an alternative supply staff during an investigation or redeploy them to another part of the school if at all possible, while the school carries out the investigation. School will involve the agency fully, but the school will take the lead in collecting the necessary information and providing it to the local authority designated officer as required School will address issues such as information sharing, to ensure any previous concerns or allegations known to the agency are taken into account (this will be carried out, for example, as part of the allegations management meeting or by liaising directly with the agency where necessary) When using an agency, school will inform them of the Beckfoot Trust’s process for managing allegations, and keep them updated about our policies as necessary, and will invite the agency's HR manager or equivalent to meetings as appropriate.

Timescales • Any cases where it is clear immediately that the allegation is unsubstantiated or malicious will be resolved within 1 week • If the nature of an allegation does not require formal disciplinary action, we will institute appropriate action within 3 working days • If a disciplinary hearing is required and can be held without further investigation, we will hold this within 15 working days

Specific actions Action following a criminal investigation or prosecution

The case manager will discuss with the local authority’s designated officer whether any further action, including disciplinary action, is appropriate and, if so, how to proceed, taking into account information provided by the police and/or children’s social care services.

Conclusion of a case where the allegation is substantiated

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 If the allegation is substantiated and the individual is dismissed or the school ceases to use their services, or the individual resigns or otherwise ceases to provide their services, the case manager and the Trust’s HR Advisers will discuss with the designated officer whether to make a referral to the DBS for consideration of whether inclusion on the barred lists is required. If they think that the individual has engaged in conduct that has harmed (or is likely to harm) a child, or if they think the person otherwise poses a risk of harm to a child, they must make a referral to the DBS.

If the individual concerned is a member of teaching staff, the case manager and Trust HR Adviser will discuss with the designated officer whether to refer the matter to the Teaching Regulation Agency to consider prohibiting the individual from teaching.

Individuals returning to work after suspension

If it is decided on the conclusion of a case that an individual who has been suspended can return to work, the case manager will consider how best to facilitate this.

The case manager will also consider how best to manage the individual’s contact with the child or children who made the allegation, if they are still attending the school.

Unsubstantiated or malicious allegations

If an allegation is shown to be deliberately invented, or malicious, the headteacher, or other appropriate person in the case of an allegation against the headteacher, will consider whether any disciplinary action is appropriate against the pupil(s) who made it, or whether the police should be asked to consider whether action against those who made the allegation might be appropriate, even if they are not a pupil.

Confidentiality The school will make every effort to maintain confidentiality and guard against unwanted publicity while an allegation is being investigated or considered.

The case manager will take advice from the local authority’s designated officer, police and children’s social care services, as appropriate, to agree:

• Who needs to know about the allegation and what information can be shared • How to manage speculation, leaks and gossip, including how to make parents or carers of a child/children involved aware of their obligations with respect to confidentiality • What, if any, information can be reasonably given to the wider community to reduce speculation • How to manage press interest if, and when, it arises

Record-keeping The case manager will maintain clear records about any case where the allegation or concern meets the criteria above and store them on the individual’s confidential personnel file for the duration of the case. Such records will include:

• A clear and comprehensive summary of the allegation • Details of how the allegation was followed up and resolved • Notes of any action taken and decisions reached (and justification for these, as stated above)

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 If an allegation or concern is not found to have been malicious, the school will retain the records of the case on the individual’s confidential personnel file, and provide a copy to the individual.

Where records contain information about allegations of sexual abuse, we will preserve these for the Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA), for the term of the inquiry. We will retain all other records at least until the individual has reached normal pension age, or for 10 years from the date of the allegation if that is longer.

The records of any allegation that is found to be malicious will be deleted from the individual’s personnel file.

References When providing employer references, we will not refer to any allegation that has been proven to be false, unsubstantiated or malicious, or any history of allegations where all such allegations have been proven to be false, unsubstantiated or malicious.

Learning lessons After any cases where the allegations are substantiated, we will review the circumstances of the case with the local authority’s designated officer to determine whether there are any improvements that we can make to the school’s procedures or practice to help prevent similar events in the future.

This will include consideration of (as applicable):

• Issues arising from the decision to suspend the member of staff • The duration of the suspension • Whether or not the suspension was justified • The use of suspension when the individual is subsequently reinstated. We will consider how future investigations of a similar nature could be carried out without suspending the individual

See Trust Staff Discipline, Conduct and Grievance Policy.

31.0 Supporting Staff We understand that staff should have access to advice on the boundaries of appropriate behaviour. The latest versions of the documents ‘Keeping children safe in Education’ and ‘Working together to safeguard Children’ (www.gov.uk) provide advice and the circumstances which should be avoided, in order to limit complaints of abuse of trust against staff, and/or allegations of physical or sexual abuse. Please also refer to the Trust Code of Conduct. These matters form part of our staff induction and are referred to in the staff information in the schools’ websites. We recognise that staff working in school that have become involved in the case of a child who has suffered harm, or appears likely to suffer harm, may find the situation stressful and upsetting. We support such staff by providing an opportunity to talk through their anxieties with the Designated Persons, a member of the school Human Resources Team or another teacher and/or a trade union representative as appropriate. Our designated persons have access to support and appropriate workshops, courses or meetings as organised or recommended by the SAFEGUARDING PARTNERS (LA, CCG, POLICE), Safeguarding Children Standards Unit or Local Authority.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 32.0 Confidential Reporting and Whistleblowing The schools’ will encourage an environment where people feel safe to express their concerns about the practise of others in line with the document ‘Francis report, whistleblowing’ 2015. If a staff member, volunteer or visitor has concerns, they should not be victimised in any way for expressing these concerns in the appropriate way.

We will advise our staff of the Trust Whistleblowing Policy and of how it can be implemented. Staff are aware of their duty to raise concerns about the attitude and actions of colleagues where these are inappropriate or unsuitable. If necessary, the member of staff should speak to a designated Safeguarding Lead or inform a member of the Trust Human Resources team.

See Trust Confidential Reporting and Whistleblowing Policy.

33.0 Safer Recruitment The application of rigorous procedures for the recruitment of any staff or volunteers who come into contact with children, both directly and indirectly, can reduce the likelihood of allegations of abuse being made that are founded. As an absolute minimum, the following standards should be followed: • All prospective workers (paid and unpaid) should complete an application form which asks for details of their previous employment and for the names of two referees; • All prospective workers (paid and unpaid) should have an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check (DBS) before they start employment – anyone who refuses to do so will not be employed; (unless an appropriate DBS check has already taken place within the last three years, for which documentary evidence is provided and referenced e.g. for ITT students). • All prospective workers (paid and unpaid) should be interviewed to establish their suitability for working with children and acceptance of the Trust Code of Conduct; • Nobody should start work before references have been received. Referees should be reminded that references should not misrepresent the candidate or omit to say things that might be relevant to their employment; • New members of staff should be made clear about their responsibilities through their staff induction process. • New members of staff should have evidence of ‘Right to Work’.

See Trust Recruitment, Safer Recruitment and DBS) Policy for detailed guidance.

Non-Employees Living on Site

On-site accommodation may be provided to Caretakers or Site Staff and their partner and families. If the accommodation is located on Primary School premises, non-employees, aged 16 years and over and living at the address will be asked to complete a volunteer DBS disclosure. The cost of the DBS will be covered by the school. This takes into account that these adults will be regularly on site and a visible presence. Details should be held on the schools Single Central Record.

Where a non-employee refuses to complete a volunteer DBS, schools should complete a risk assessment and contact Trust CIT for further advice.

34.0 Health and safety The Trust Health and Safety Policy is adopted by all Trust schools and risk assessments are carried out routinely by staff for specific identified hazards/activities. Refer to Trust Health and Safety Policy, risk assessments and any other health and safety paperwork / procedures. If you have any questions or

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 concerns initially discuss with your line manager. You can also contact Adam Varley (Trust Compliance Officer) by e-mail or phone (

35.0 Off-site Educational Visits (OEVs) Trust Schools have appropriate documented procedures for the planning and approval of off-site educational visits. Schools use (or are in in the process of adopting) the EVOLVE online system to help manage visits and also have access to support from the Educational Visits Adviser at Bradford Council.

Refer to local school Off Site Visits and Activities Policy.

36.0 Online Safety

As schools and colleges increasingly work online, it is essential that children are safeguarded from potentially harmful and inappropriate online material. Beckfoot Trust will take all reasonable steps to ensure appropriate filters and appropriate monitoring systems are in place across all schools and will ensure that a whole trust approach to online safety where staff are trained and children are taught about safeguarding, including teaching about online safety as part of providing a broad and balanced curriculum. The following resources may help trust schools to teach online safety: • DfE advice for schools: teaching online safety in schools • UK Council for Internet Safety (UKCIS) guidance: Education for a connected world • National Crime Agency's CEOP education programme: Thinkuknow • Public Health England: Rise Above

Online safety teaching should encompass not only Internet technologies but also electronic communications via mobile phones, games consoles and wireless technology and highlight the need to educate children and young people about the benefits, risks and responsibilities of using information technology; • e-Safety concerns safeguarding children and young people in the digital world; • e-Safety emphasises learning to understand and use new technologies in a positive way; • e-Safety is concerned with supporting children and young people to develop safer online behaviours both in and out of school.

All schools should follow the Beckfoot Trust Online Safety Policy.

Social Networking, Phone and Text Communications Trust Schools’ Senior Leadership Teams may provide advice to staff either by announcement or in written form so that staff are clear that material posted by them on social networking websites or through mobile phone text facilities that have an impact on the school or on the employee’s professional reputation may be considered as disciplinary matters by the school.

See Appendix 4 for further information on online safety.

37.0 Continuing Professional Development All Trust staff members receive appropriate safeguarding and child protection training which is updated annually. In addition designated leads and headteachers organise on-going refresher training throughout the year around topics that are contextual to their school to ensure all staff are kept fully up to date with current policy, guidance and procedures. 33

Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Further training and briefings for DSLs are delivered through the bi-annual Trust Safeguarding Briefings.

38.0 Curriculum statement Pupil safeguarding is paramount within our Trust schools and we are committed to protecting all of our children. Great importance is placed on identifying opportunities in the taught curriculum for children to learn about safeguarding. Our broad curriculum gives pupils opportunities to experience life in all its diversity, to acquire knowledge, understanding and skills that significantly impact on personal development and behaviour and equips every child with the knowledge and skills required for personal safeguarding. Each school will design a PSE curriculum that is bespoke to their context and covers all areas of Safeguarding. This curriculum will constantly challenge children and young people to think deeply about safeguarding matters and their own personal physical and mental wellbeing; to volunteer and discuss their thoughts and ideas and to ask questions and voice their concerns. The DfE has published advice and guidance on Preventing and Tackling Bullying, and Mental Health and Behaviour in Schools (which may also be useful for colleges). In addition, Public Health England has produced a range of resources to support secondary school teachers to promote positive health, wellbeing and resilience among young people including its guidance Promoting children and young people’s emotional health and wellbeing. Its resources include social media, forming positive relationships, smoking and alcohol. See Rise Above for links to all materials and lesson plans. 39.0 Relationships education, relationships and sex education (RSE) and health education

Trust schools should include relevant safeguarding issues through Relationships Education (for all primary pupils) and Relationships and Sex Education (for all secondary pupils) and Health Education (for all pupils in state-funded schools) which is compulsory from September 2020. Schools have flexibility to decide how they discharge their duties effectively within the first year of compulsory teaching and are encouraged to take a phased approach (if needed) when introducing these subjects.

Through these subjects, we will to support all young people to be happy, healthy and safe – we want to equip them for adult life and to make a positive contribution to society.

40.0 Policy Review Beckfoot Trust is responsible for ensuring the annual review of this policy and for additional policies that are relevant to safeguarding and child protection. They will also ensure that the list of key Safeguarding Leads/Named Persons details are kept up to date.

41.0 Safeguarding Guidance and Contacts ▪ Keeping children safe in education September 2020 ▪ Working Together to Safeguard Children 2018 – ▪ The Bradford Safeguarding and Child Protection Procedures ▪ Disqualification under the Childcare Act (2018) ▪ Child Exploitation and Online Protection Agency - www.ceop.org.uk

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 ▪ Child sexual exploitation Definition and a guide for practitioners, local leaders and decision makers working to protect children from child sexual exploitation DFE (Feb 2017) ▪ Criminal Exploitation of children and vulnerable adults: County Lines guidance: Home Office (Sept 2018) ▪ Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) - July 2020 Multiagency statutory guidance ▪ Child Sexual Exploitation (CSE) ▪ Forced marriage Unit ▪ Information Sharing (2018) ▪ Safeguarding Disabled Children Practice Guidance ▪ Sexual Violence and Sexual Harassment between Children (May 2018) ▪ What to do if you’re worried a child is being abused Advice for practitioners ▪ Preventing Abuse (including guidance for Deaf and Disabled Children ▪ Ofsted Inspecting Safeguarding 2019 ▪ NPCC- When to call the police should help designated safeguarding leads understand when they should consider calling the police and what to expect when they do. Click

Appendix 1: Information for staff – What to do if you suspect abuse IF IN DOUBT –ACT!

CONTACTS - Bradford Children’s’ Social Care

• During office hours (8.30am – 5pm Monday to Thursday, 4.30pm on Friday) call Children’s Social Services Initial Contact Point on 01274 437500 • At all other times, Social Services Emergency Duty Team on 01274 431010 • If you have reason to believe that a child is at IMMEDIATE RISK OF HARM, contact the police on 999 • For all general enquiries, please contact Children’s Specialist Services on 01274 435600 ALSO REFER TO CONTACT DETAILS IN (APPENDIX 3) FLOWCHART

It is the responsibility of all members of staff to ensure that safeguarding concerns are reported to a Safeguarding Lead in the appropriate school as soon as reasonably possible. The Safeguarding Lead may have other information regarding a student, or their family, of which staff may not be aware. Procedures to follow:- You may have a concern about a student’s well-being based on: • Something the student/adult/parent has told you • Something you have noticed about a student’s behaviour, health or appearance • Something another professional said or did It is never your decision alone how to respond to concerns, but it is always your responsibility to share your concerns, no matter how small. Decide whether you need to find out more: • Ask a student/adult to clarify your concerns • Be careful to use open ended questions, beginning with words like: how, where, when, who. Let the student know what you plan to do next 35

Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 If you have heard a disclosure of abuse or you are talking to them about your concerns do not promise to keep it a secret. For example, “I’m listening to what you’re saying, but I do need to go and speak to someone who can help us”. Or “I am worried about your bruise and I need to tell someone so that they can help us to think about how to keep you safe”. Inform the Safeguarding Lead immediately. If a Safeguarding Lead is not available in inform the Deputy Headteachers or the Headteacher. Make a written record. This should include the following information: • The name of the student with date of birth, date, time and pCLAe and who else was present. • What was said, what happened, what you noticed, speech, mood and appearance? • If a student or parent spoke, record their words rather than your interpretation. • An analysis of what you observed and why it is a cause for concern Appendix 2: Keeping Children Safe in Education information for all School Staff

What school and college staff should know and do: Keeping children safe in education is statutory guidance for schools and colleges who must have regard to it when carrying out their duties to safeguard and promote the welfare of children. This means that they should comply with it unless exceptional circumstances arise.

• governing bodies of maintained schools (including maintained nursery schools) and colleges;

• proprietors of independent schools (including academies and free schools), alternative provision academies and non-maintained special schools; and

• management committees of pupil referral units (PRUs)

Safeguarding is: protecting children from maltreatment; preventing impairment of children’s health or development; ensuring that children grow up in circumstances consistent with the provision of safe and effective care; and taking action to enable all children to have the best outcomes Children includes everyone under the age of 18. Where a child is suffering significant harm, or is likely to do so, action should be taken to protect that child. Action should also be taken to promote the welfare of a child in need of additional support, even if they are not suffering harm or are at immediate risk. The role of the school • Everyone, especially school staff, who comes into contact with children and their families has a role to play in safeguarding children. Schools should work with social care, the police, health services and other services to promote the welfare of children and protect them from harm.

• Each school should have a designated safeguarding lead who will provide support to staff members to carry out their safeguarding duties and who will liaise closely with other services such as children’s social care.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 The role of school staff

• The Teacher Standards 2012 state that teachers, including Headteachers, should safeguard children’s wellbeing and maintain public trust in the teaching profession as part of their professional duties.

• All school staff have a responsibility to provide a safe environment in which children can learn.

• All school staff have a responsibility to identify children who may be in need of extra help or who are suffering, or are likely to suffer, significant harm.

What school staff need to know • All staff members should be aware of systems within their school which support safeguarding and these should be explained to them as part of staff induction.

• All staff members should also receive appropriate child protection training which is updated every year.

What school staff should look out for

• Staff should be aware of the signs of abuse and neglect so that they are able to identify cases of children who may be in need of help or protection. Staff working with children are advised to maintain an attitude of ‘it could happen here’ where safeguarding is concerned.

What school staff should do if they have concerns about a child? • If staff members have concerns about a child, they should raise these with the school’s designated safeguarding lead/named persons. This also includes situations of abuse which may involve staff members.

• If, at any point, there is a risk of immediate serious harm to a child a referral should be made to children’s social care immediately. Anybody can make a referral. If the child’s situation does not appear to be improving the staff member with concerns should press for re- consideration. Concerns should always lead to help for the child at some point.

• See Child Protection Procedures Flowchart – Appendix 3

What school staff should do if they have concerns about another staff member

• If staff members have concerns about another staff member then this should be referred to the headteacher. Where there are concerns about the headteacher this should be referred to the chair of Board the Board of Directors.

What school or college staff should do if they have concerns about safeguarding practices within the school • Staff and volunteers should feel able to raise concerns about poor or unsafe practice and potential failures in the school’s safeguarding regime. Appropriate whistleblowing procedures, which are suitably reflected in staff training and staff behaviour policies, should be in pCLAe for such concerns to be raised with the school’s management team. • Where a staff member feels unable to raise the issue with their employer or feels that their genuine concerns are not being addressed, other whistleblowing channels may be open to them.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Appendix 3: Child Protection Flowchart EXAMPLE Adult & Child Protection Procedure Flow Chart

Discovery or suspicion of Child Abuse If in doubt ACT

Inform the Safeguarding Lead Graeme Wrightson – Headteacher

Alison Smith – Assistant Headteacher for Access & Inclusion

Mike Midgley – Assistant Headteacher for Behaviour & Attitudes

Where it is clear that a Child Protection Referral is needed the named person will contact

• Children’s Initial Contact Point without delay Tel: 01274 437500 • Out of hrs Emergency Duty Team Tel: 01274 431010 • Where the Named Person is not sure whether it is a child protection issue, or where the Named Person needs to check the register, they may seek advice from the Child Protection Unit Tel: 01274 434343 • Safeguarding Leads may also seek advice from the Education Social Work Service Tel: 01274 439651 

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 If you are asked to monitor the situation, make sure you are clear what you are expected to monitor, for how long and how and to whom you should feedback information to. Remember always make and keep a written record of all events and action taken, date and sign each entry to this record. Keep records confidential, secure, and separate from the child’s curriculum file. 

Ensure immediate completion and dispatch of the Common Child Protection Referral Form - http://bradfordscb.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/Common-Referral-Form-Aug-17-v3- 0.doc Retain a copy in school. Send copies to:

• Children’s Social Care (to the Area Office you made your referral too) • Principal Education Social Worker Margaret McMillan Tower, Princes Way, Bradford BD1 1NN 

Adults and Students over the age of 18 If you think that an adult is at risk of abuse or you are worried that someone might be abused raise your concern at www.bradford.gov.uk/makeanalert If you are unable to complete the online form call the Adult Protection Unit Tel: 01274 431077 Monday to Thursday 8.30- 4.30pm Friday 8.30-4.00pm or call the Out of Hours Emergency Duty Team Tel 01274 431010 USEFUL TELEPHONE NUMBERS Children’s Social Care Initial Contact Point: 01274 437500 Emergency Duty Team: 01274 431010 Education Social Work Service: 01274 439651 Police: Javelin House, Child Protection Unit: 01274 376061 / Police non-emergency 101 / Emergency (if a child is at risk of immediate harm) 999

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Appendix 4: Online Safety (also refer to Trust Online Safety Policy) The use of technology has become a significant component of many safeguarding issues. Child sexual exploitation; radicalisation; sexual predation: technology often provides the platform that facilitates harm. To protect pupils Beckfoot Trust will educate the whole school in their use of technology and establishes mechanisms to identify, intervene in, and escalate any incident where appropriate. The breadth of issues classified within online safety is considerable, but can be categorised into three areas of risk: • content: being exposed to illegal, inappropriate or harmful material; for example pornography, fake news, racist or radical and extremist views; • contact: being subjected to harmful online interaction with other users; for example commercial advertising as well as adults posing as children or young adults; and • conduct: personal online behaviour that increases the likelihood of, or causes, harm; for example making, sending and receiving explicit images, or online bullying. Resources that could support schools include: • Be Internet Legends developed by Parent Zone and Google is a free internet safety curriculum with PSHE accredited lesson plans and teaching resources for Key Stage 2 pupils • Disrespectnobody is Home Office advice and includes resources on healthy relationships, including sexting and pornography • Education for a connected world framework from the UK Council for Internet Safety supports the development of the curriculum and is of particular relevance to RSHE education and Computing. It is designed, however, to be usable across the curriculum and beyond (covering early years through to age 18) and to be central to a whole school or college approach to safeguarding and online safety. • PSHE association provides guidance to schools on developing their PSHE curriculum • Teaching online safety in school is departmental guidance outlining how schools can ensure their pupils understand how to stay safe and behave online as part of existing curriculum requirements This document is for information only and does not come into force until 1 September 2020. Schools and colleges must continue to have regard to KCSIE 2019 until then. 103 • Thinkuknow is the National Crime Agency/CEOPs education programme with age specific resources • UK Safer Internet Centre developed guidance and resources that can help with the teaching of the online safety component of the Computing Curriculum.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Appendix 5: Examples and definitions of the different type of abuse Physical abuse can involve hitting, shaking, throwing, poisoning, burning, scalding, drowning, and suffocating. It is against the law to discipline a child by deliberately doing any of these things. Physical abuse can also result when a parent or carer deliberately causes the ill health of a child in order to seek attention. Symptoms that indicate physical abuse include: • Bruising in unusual places, such as the face or the back; • Finger mark bruising or grasp marks on the limbs or chest of a small child; • Bites; • Burn and scald marks; small round burns that could be caused by a cigarette; • Fractures to arms, legs or ribs in a small child; • Large numbers of scars of different sizes or ages.

Children who have been physically hurt can be fearful of others. They may also wear clothes that cover most of their body in order to cover their injuries and be resistant to explaining how the injury happened. Emotional Abuse Emotional abuse happens when a child’s need for love, security, praise and recognition is not met. Some level of emotional abuse is involvement in all types of ill treatment of a child. Emotionally abusive behaviour occurs if a parent, carer or authority figure is consistently hostile, rejecting, threatening or undermining. It can also result when children are prevented from social contact with others, or if developmentally inappropriate expectations are imposed upon them. Symptoms that indicate emotional abuse include: • Excessively clingy or attention-seeking behaviour; • Very low self-esteem or excessive self-criticism; • Excessively withdrawn behaviour or fearfulness; • Anxious behaviour, such as rocking, hair twisting or self-harm; • CLAk of appropriate boundaries with strangers; too eager to please; • Eating disorders.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Neglect Neglect is the persistent failure to meet a child’s basic physical and/or psychological needs, causing damage to their health and development. It may involve a parent or carer failing to provide adequate food, shelter or clothing, failing to protect a child from harm or danger, or failing to access appropriate medical care and treatment when necessary. It can exist in isolation or in combination with other forms of abuse. Symptoms of physical and emotional neglect can include: • Inadequate supervision; being left alone for long periods of time; • CLAk of stimulation, social contact or education; • Inadequate nutrition, leading to ill-health – a child may look too thin, too fat and/or undernourished; • Constant hunger; stealing or gorging food; • Failure to seek or to follow medical advice such that a child’s life or development is • endangered; • Repeated wearing of inappropriate clothing for the weather; • Inappropriate or ill-fitting equipment e.g. wheelchair, harness etc. that causes discomfort or sores.

Sexual Abuse Sexual abuse involves forcing or enticing a child or young person to take part in sexual activities, whether or not the child is aware of what is happening. This may include physical contact, both penetrative and non-penetrative, or involve no contact, such as watching sexual activities, harassment or looking at pornographic material. Encouraging children to act in sexually inappropriate ways is also abusive. Under the Sexual Offences Act 2003, any sexual activity –contact or non-contact – with a child under the age of 16, is a crime. Symptoms of sexual abuse include:

• Allegations or disclosure; • Genital soreness, injuries or discomfort; • Sexually transmitted diseases; urinary infections; • Excessive preoccupation with sex; inappropriately sexualised play, words or drawing; • A child who is sexually provocative or seductive with adults;

Other children and young people may additionally exhibit: • Depression; • Drug and/or alcohol abuse; • Eating disorders; obsessive behaviours; • Self-mutilation; suicide attempts; • School/peer/relationship problems.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Appendix 6: Vulnerability to Radicalisation and the Prevent Strategy Radicalisation and THE PREVENT Strategy

June 2016

This is simply about stopping people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism. “Safeguarding vulnerable people from radicalisation is no different from safeguarding them from other forms of harm”

Home Office, The Prevent Strategy Prevent is:

• about all forms of terrorism. • a part of the Home Office’s Counter Terrorism Strategy known as Contest. • a cross Government programme with local authorities working with to deliver local strategies • made up of 3 distinct strands; ideology, individuals, institutions. • based on having conversations with trusted colleagues and using professional judgement to understand when to intervene Schools:

Schools are important because they can play a vital role in preparing young people to challenge extremism and the ideology of terrorism and effectively rebut those who are apologists for it. Awareness of Prevent and the risks it is intended to address are both vital. Staff can help to identify, and to refer to the relevant agencies, children whose behaviour suggests that they are being drawn into terrorism or extremism.

HM Government Prevent Strategy - June 2011

Staff:

• be able to recognise vulnerabilities to radicalisation which include: - concerns regarding very opinionated racial/political/religious comments/remarks in lesson or overheard socially - identified misuse of school computers or knowledge of inappropriate internet sites being accessed. • should know what to do in relation to concerns in school - knowledge of the PREVENT flowchart • should understand that concerns about a vulnerable individual can be referred to the Safeguarding Lead Teachers/Named Persons.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 PREVENT

Procedure Flow Chart (Example)

Discovery or suspicion of child being involved in or victim of Terrorism If in doubt ACT

Inform the Safeguarding Lead Graeme Wrightson – Headteacher Alison Smith – Assistant Headteacher for Access & Inclusion Mike Midgely – Assistant Headteacher for Behaviour & Attitudes

Where it is clear that a Police Referral is needed the Safeguarding Lead will contact Tony Hooson (Safer Schools Police Officer) without delay

Out of hrs non-emergency Tel No 101

Out of hrs emergency Tel No 999

If asked to monitor the situation, make sure you are clear what you are expected to monitor, for how long and how and to whom you should feedback information to.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Appendix 7: DBS Clarification The school records all information on the checks carried out in the school’s single central record (SCR). Copies of these checks, where appropriate, will be held in individuals’ personnel files. We follow requirements and best practice in retaining copies of these checks, as set out below.

New staff When appointing new staff, we will:

Verify their identity Obtain (via the applicant) an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificate, including barred list information for those who will be engaging in regulated activity (see definition below). We will not keep a copy of this for longer than 6 months Obtain a separate barred list check if they will start work in regulated activity before the DBS certificate is available Verify their mental and physical fitness to carry out their work responsibilities Verify their right to work in the UK. We will keep a copy of this verification for the duration of the member of staff’s employment and for 2 years afterwards Verify their professional qualifications, as appropriate Ensure they are not subject to a prohibition order if they are employed to be a teacher Carry out further additional checks, as appropriate, on candidates who have lived or worked outside of the UK, including (where relevant) any teacher sanctions or restrictions imposed by a European Economic Area professional regulating authority, and criminal records checks or their equivalent Check that candidates taking up a management position are not subject to a prohibition from management (section 128) direction made by the secretary of state Schools with pupils aged under 8

Schools will ensure that appropriate checks are carried out to ensure that individuals are not disqualified under the 2018 Childcare Disqualification Regulations and Childcare Act 2006. Where we take a decision that an individual falls outside of the scope of these regulations and we do not carry out such checks, we will retain a record of our assessment on the individual’s personnel file. This will include our evaluation of any risks and control measures put in place, and any advice sought.:

All Beckfoot Schools

Will ask for written information about previous employment history and check that information is not contradictory or incomplete.

We will seek references on all short-listed candidates, including internal candidates, before interview. We will scrutinise these and resolve any concerns before confirming appointments. The references requested will ask specific questions about the suitability of the applicant to work with children.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Regulated activity means a person who will be:

Responsible, on a regular basis in a school or college, for teaching, training, instructing, caring for or supervising children; or Carrying out paid, or unsupervised unpaid, work regularly in a school or college where that work provides an opportunity for contact with children; or Engaging in intimate or personal care or overnight activity, even if this happens only once and regardless of whether they are supervised or not

Existing staff If we have concerns about an existing member of staff’s suitability to work with children, we will carry out all the relevant checks as if the individual was a new member of staff. We will also do this if an individual moves from a post that is not regulated activity to one that is.

We will refer to the DBS anyone who has harmed, or poses a risk of harm, to a child or vulnerable adult where:

We believe the individual has engaged in relevant conduct; or The individual has received a caution or conviction for a relevant offence, or there is reason to believe the individual has committed a listed relevant offence, under the Safeguarding Vulnerable Groups Act 2006 (Prescribed Criteria and Miscellaneous Provisions) Regulations 2009; or The ‘harm test’ is satisfied in respect of the individual (i.e. they may harm a child or vulnerable adult or put them at risk of harm); and The individual has been removed from working in regulated activity (paid or unpaid) or would have been removed if they had not left

Agency and third-party staff The school will obtain written notification from any agency or third-party organisation that it has carried out the necessary safer recruitment checks that we would otherwise perform. We will also check that the person presenting themselves for work is the same person on whom the checks have been made.

Contractors The school will will ensure that any contractor, or any employee of the contractor, who is to work at the school has had the appropriate level of DBS check (this includes contractors who are provided through a PFI or similar contract). This will be:

An enhanced DBS check with barred list information for contractors engaging in regulated activity An enhanced DBS check, not including barred list information, for all other contractors who are not in regulated activity but whose work provides them with an opportunity for regular contact with children The school will obtain the DBS check for self-employed contractors. The school will not keep copies of such checks for longer than 6 months.

Contractors who have not had any checks will not be allowed to work unsupervised or engage in regulated activity under any circumstances.

School check the identity of all contractors and their staff on arrival at the school.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Schools with pupils aged under 8: For self-employed contractors such as music teachers or sports coaches, school will ensure that appropriate checks are carried out to ensure that individuals are not disqualified under the 2018 Childcare Disqualification Regulations and Childcare Act 2006. Where we decide that an individual falls outside of the scope of these regulations and we do not carry out such checks, we will retain a record of our assessment. This will include our evaluation of any risks and control measures put in place, and any advice sought.

Trainee/student teachers Where applicants for initial teacher training are salaried by the Trust, school will ensure that all necessary checks are carried out.

Where trainee teachers are fee-funded, the Trust obtain written confirmation from the training provider that necessary checks have been carried out and that the trainee has been judged by the provider to be suitable to work with children.

Schools with pupils aged under 8: In both cases, this includes checks to ensure that individuals are not disqualified under the 2018 Childcare Disqualification Regulations and Childcare Act 2006.

Volunteers School will:

Never leave an unchecked volunteer unsupervised or allow them to work in regulated activity Obtain an enhanced DBS check with barred list information for all volunteers who are new to working in regulated activity Carry out a risk assessment when deciding whether to seek an enhanced DBS check without barred list information for any volunteers not engaging in regulated activity. We will retain a record of this risk assessment Schools with pupils aged under 8: Ensure that appropriate checks are carried out to ensure that individuals are not disqualified under the 2018 Childcare Disqualification Regulations and Childcare Act 2006. Where we decide that an individual falls outside of the scope of these regulations and we do not carry out such checks, we will retain a record of our assessment. This will include our evaluation of any risks and control measures put in place, and any advice sought

Directors All directors, trustees and members will have an enhanced DBS check without barred list information.

They will have an enhanced DBS check with barred list information if working in regulated activity.

The chair of the board will have their DBS check countersigned by the secretary of state.

All directors, trustees and members will also have the following checks:

A section 128 check (to check prohibition on participation in management under section 128 of the Education and Skills Act 2008). [Note: Section 128 checks are only required for local governors if they have retained or been delegated any management responsibilities.] Identity Right to work in the UK Other checks deemed necessary if they have lived or worked outside the UK 47

Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Staff working in alternative provision settings Where we place a pupil with an alternative provision provider, we obtain written confirmation from the provider that they have carried out the appropriate safeguarding checks on individuals working there that we would otherwise perform.

Adults who supervise pupils on work experience When organising work experience, we will ensure that policies and procedures are in place to protect children from harm.

We will also consider whether it is necessary for barred list checks to be carried out on the individuals who supervise a pupil under 16 on work experience. This will depend on the specific circumstances of the work experience, including the nature of the supervision, the frequency of the activity being supervised, and whether the work is regulated activity.

Pupils staying with host families Where the school makes arrangements for pupils to be provided with care and accommodation by a host family to which they are not related (for example, during a foreign exchange visit), we will request enhanced DBS checks with barred list information on those people.

Where the school is organising such hosting arrangements overseas and host families cannot be checked in the same way, we will work with our partner schools abroad to ensure that similar assurances are undertaken prior to the visit. Other workers not covered above

Visitor Access Arrangements

Visitors listed on the Schools Single Central Register must ‘sign-in’ at Reception. Visitors listed on the Single Central Register can then move around the schools and carry out their business without being accompanied. Visitors not listed on the Single Central Register must be announced to the member of staff that is responsible for the work they have come to complete. Some schools have permanently based contractors on site e.g. Amey FM/Facilities Management Catering/Laing O’Rourke. Schools must ensure documented procedures are in pCLAe and monitored for Safeguarding and Health and Safety e.g. DBS checks/Access to Work Permits. All other visitors must be accompanied at all times.

In exceptional cases, an employee is authorised by the Headteacher to start work before the return of their Beckfoot DBS check only if they sign a personal declaration stating that they have no criminal convictions, bind-over orders, cautions, reprimands or warnings recorded against them. Exceptional circumstances arise where a key role within the Trust is vacant and the time taken to process a DBS check is extensive. In such cases, members of staff are only allowed to work alongside other members of staff and never alone.

Definition of a Visitor

Anyone (with the exception of Amey staff or other permanently based Contractor Staff) not in possession of a school identity card is a ‘Visitor’. All Visitors that do not hold a staff identity card, must sign in at Reception. Regular Visitors (more than 4 times each year or four times in any one month) or peripatetic teachers must not work in the school without being included on the Single Central Register. Until they are included on the Single Central Register they may only work when accompanied.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Breaks in Service – Exam Invigilators

Exam invigilators should be asked to complete a declaration once each year at the training session run by the Examinations Office irrespective of how frequently they visit Trust. This will ensure we have an annual declaration in addition to the normal cycle of DBS renewal.

DBS Checks Returned with a Disclosure

The Beckfoot Trust recognises that in some cases DBS checks will include disclosures of past criminal activity. This is not of itself a bar to inclusion on the Single Central Record. In all such cases, the Headteacher will complete a risk assessment, taking advice as necessary, and decide if the individual is considered appropriate to include on the Single Central Register. It is the schools understanding that other Authorised Bodies completing DBS checks that are recognised by the school will complete similar risk assessments in the event of a DBS Check disclosure.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Appendix 8: Forced Marriage Policy

Overview

A forced marriage is where one or both people do not (or in cases of people with learning disabilities, cannot) consent to the marriage and pressure or abuse is used. It is an appalling and indefensible practice and is recognised in the UK as a form of violence against women and men, domestic/child abuse and a serious abuse of human rights. The pressure put on people to marry against their will can be physical (including threats, actual physical violence and sexual violence) or emotional and psychological (for example, when someone is made to feel like they’re bringing shame on their family). Financial abuse (taking your wages or not giving you any money) can also be a factor. Legislation on Forced Marriage The Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014 makes it a criminal offence to force someone to marry this includes:

• Taking someone overseas to force them to marry (whether or not the forced marriage takes pCLAe)

• Marrying someone who lacks the mental capacity to consent to the marriage (whether they’re pressured to or not)

• Breaching a Forced Marriage Protection Order is also a criminal offence

• The civil remedy of obtaining a Forced Marriage Protection Order through the family courts will continue to exist alongside the new criminal offence, so victims can choose how they wish to be assisted

• Details of the new law can be found on the Legislation website

• Forcing someone to marry can result in a sentence of up to 7 years in prison

If you suspect a student is being forced into marriage: • Speak to the student about your concerns

• Collect as much information as possible • Liaise with the Safeguarding Lead Teacher(s)/Named Persons who will seek advice from the Forced Marriage Unit

Do Not: • Treat such allegations merely as a domestic issue and send the student back to the family home.

• Ignore what the student has told you or dismiss out of hand the need for immediate protection. • Decide that it is not your responsibility to follow-up the allegation.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 • Approach the student’s family or those with influence within the community, without the express consent of the student, as this will alert them to your concerns and may pCLAe the student in danger. • Contact the family in advance of any enquiries by the police, the Forced Marriage Unit, adult or children's social care, either by telephone or letter.

• Share information outside information sharing protocols without the express consent of the student. • Attempt to be a mediator or encourage mediation, reconciliation, arbitration or family counselling. If a student stops attending school: If a teacher, lecturer or other member of staff suspects that a student has been removed from, or prevented from, attending education as a result of forced marriage, a referral should be made to the local authority adult or children’s social care and the police. • Liaise with the local police domestic abuse unit. • Contact the Forced Marriage Unit. • Try to obtain as much information about the student as possible. • Establish if there is a history of siblings being forced to marry. • Consider speaking to the student’s friends.

DO NOT:

• Remove the student from the register without first making enquiries and referring the case to police and local authority adult or children’s social care. • Dismiss the student as taking unauthorised absence.

The Forced Marriage Unit operates a public helpline to provide advice and support to victims of forced marriage as well as to practitioners dealing with cases.

For queries or reporting guidance, please contact

your Local Safeguarding Board contact or the Forced Marriage Unit

• Telephone: 0207 0080151 • Email: [email protected]

Trust Schools are encouraged to make use of the resources available at https://www.gov.uk/guidance/forced-marriage#additional-resources

Refer to Appendix 3 for Safeguarding lead/named persons

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Appendix 9: FGM Policy

Rationale: Beckfoot Trust has robust and rigorous safeguarding procedures and take their responsibilities for child protection seriously. Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) is a form of child abuse and as such is dealt with under the schools’ Child Protection/Safeguarding policy. The Beckfoot Trust has an expectation that Safeguarding is everybody’s responsibility and we expect all staff to adhere to and follow these policies.

Definition of FGM: “Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) comprises of all procedures involving partial or total removal of the external female genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs whether for cultural or non- therapeutic reasons.” (World Health Organisation-1997) The UK Government has written advice and guidance on FGM that states; “FGM is considered child abuse in the UK and a grave violation of the human rights of girls and women. In all circumstances where FGM is practised on a child it is a violation of the child’s right to life, their right to their bodily integrity, as well as their right to health. The UK Government has signed a number of international human rights laws against FGM, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child.” Girls are at particular risk of FGM during school summer holidays. This is the time when families may take their children abroad for the procedure. Many girls may not be aware that they may be at risk of undergoing FGM. UK communities that are most at risk of FGM include Kenyans, Somalis, Sudanese, Sierra Leoneans, Egyptians, Nigerians and Eritreans. However, women from non-African communities that are at risk of FGM include Yemeni, Kurdish, Indonesian and Pakistani women.”

Ofsted key questions could include: • Are designated senior staff for child protection aware of the issue and have ensured that staff in the school are aware of the potential risks? • How alert are staff to the possible signs that a child has been subject to female genital mutilation or is at risk of being abused through it? • Has the school taken timely and appropriate action in respect of concerns about particular children?

Procedures in place: We have decided to take proactive action to protect and prevent any student(s) being forced to undertake FGM. The Headteachers and Directors do this in 4 ways: 1. A robust attendance policy that does not authorise holidays, extended or otherwise. 2. FGM training for Child Protection leads and disseminated training for all staff at the front line dealing with the children. 3. FGM discussions by Child Protection lead with parents of children from practising communities who are at risk. 4. Comprehensive PSHCE and Relationship and Sex Education programme

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Indications that FGM has taken place: • Prolonged absence from school with noticeable behaviour change – especially after a return from holiday. • Spending long periods of time away from the class during the day. • A child who has undergone FGM should be seen as a child protection issue. Medical assessment and therapeutic services to be considered at the Strategy Meeting.

Indications that a child is at risk of FGM: • The family comes from a community that is known to practice FGM - especially if there are elderly women present. • In conversation a child may talk about FGM. • A child may express anxiety about a special ceremony. • The child may talk or have anxieties about forthcoming holidays to their country of origin. • Parent/Guardian requests permission for authorised absence for overseas travel or you are aware that absence is required for vaccinations. • If a woman has already undergone FGM – and it comes to the attention of any professional, consideration needs to be given to any Child Protection implications e.g. for younger siblings, extended family members and a referral made to Social Care or the Police if appropriate.

If we have concerns that children in our school community are at risk or victims of Female Genital Mutilation, then we refer to the student to Social Services. Guidelines for FGM; we may; Ask in a sensitive manner questions like: • Who is going on the holiday with the child? • How long they plan to go for and is there a special celebration planned? • Where are they going? • Are they aware that the school cannot keep their child on roll if they are away for a long period? • Are they aware that FGM including Sunna is illegal in the U.K even if performed abroad?

If you suspect that a child is a victim of FGM you may ask the child; • Your family is originally from a country where girls or women are circumcised – Do you think you have gone through this? • Has anything been done to you down there or on your bottom? • Do you want to talk to someone who will understand you better? • Would you like support in contacting other agencies for support, help or advice?

These questions and advice are guidance and each case should be dealt with sensitively and considered individually and independently. Using this guidance is at the discretion of the Headteacher. Record - all interventions should be accurately recorded. Refer - Child Protection lead or Headteacher needs to seek advice about making referrals to Social Care and in doing so will refer to SAFEGUARDING PARTNERS (LA, CCG, POLICE) guidelines and CP procedures. Guidelines on FGM and CP referrals - Useful documents include: • Multi-agency statutory guidance on female genital mutilation’ (April 2016) • Bradford Safeguarding Guidelines • Working together to safeguard children, HM Government (2018) • Keeping children safe in education - Statutory guidance for schools and colleges (2018; updated 2019) • Keeping children safe in education (2019) Part 1

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Appendix 10: Action following a report of sexual violence and/or sexual harassment

What to consider. Schools and colleges should carefully consider any report of sexual violence and/or sexual harassment. The designated safeguarding lead (or deputy) is likely to have a complete safeguarding picture and be the most appropriate person to advise on the school’s or college’s initial response. Important considerations will include: ➢ the wishes of the victim in terms of how they want to proceed. This is especially important in the context of sexual violence and sexual harassment. Victims should be given as much control as is reasonably possible over decisions regarding how any investigation will be progressed and any support that they will be offered; ➢ the nature of the alleged incident(s), including: whether a crime may have been committed and consideration of harmful sexual behaviour; ➢ the ages of the children involved; ➢ the developmental stages of the children involved; ➢ any power imbalance between the children. For example, is the alleged perpetrator significantly older, more mature or more confident? Does the victim have a disability or learning difficulty? ➢ if the alleged incident is a one-off or a sustained pattern of abuse; ➢ are there ongoing risks to the victim, other children, adult students or school or college staff; and ➢ other related issues and wider context, including family, peer group, school or neighbourhood.

As always when concerned about the welfare of a child, all staff should act in the best interests of the child. In all cases, schools and colleges should follow general safeguarding principles as set out throughout this guidance. Immediate consideration should be given as to how best to support and protect the victim and the alleged perpetrator (and any other children involved/impacted).

The starting point regarding any report should always be that sexual violence and sexual harassment is not acceptable and will not be tolerated. Especially important is not to pass off any sexual violence or sexual harassment as ‘banter’, ‘part of growing up’ or ‘having a laugh’.

Options to manage the report It is important that schools and colleges consider every report on a case-by-case basis. When to inform the alleged perpetrator will be a decision that should be carefully considered. Where a report is going to be made to children’s social care and/or the police, then, as a general rule, the school or college should speak to the relevant agency and discuss next steps and how the alleged perpetrator will be informed of the allegations. However, as per general safeguarding principles, this does not and should not stop the school or college taking immediate action to safeguard their children, where required. There are four likely scenarios for schools and colleges to consider when managing any reports of sexual violence and/or sexual harassment.

1.Manage internally • In some cases of sexual harassment, for example, one-off incidents, the school or college may take the view that the children concerned are not in need of early help or statutory intervention and that it would be appropriate to handle the incident internally, perhaps through utilising their behaviour and bullying policies and by providing pastoral support. • Whatever the school’s or college’s response, it should be underpinned by the principle that sexual violence and sexual harassment is never acceptable and will not be tolerated. 54

Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 • All concerns, discussions, decisions and reasons for decisions should be recorded (written or electronic).

2.Early help • In line with 1 above, the school or college may decide that the children involved do not require statutory interventions but may benefit from early help. Early help means providing support as soon as a problem emerges, at any point in a child’s life. Providing early help is more effective in promoting the welfare of children than reacting later. Early help can be particularly useful to address non-violent harmful sexual behaviour and may prevent escalation of sexual violence. Full details of the early help process are in Chapter one of Working Together to Safeguard Children. • Multi-agency early help will work best when placed alongside strong school or college policies, preventative education and engagement with parents and carers. • Whatever the response, it should be under-pinned by the principle that sexual violence and sexual harassment is never acceptable and will not be tolerated. • All concerns, discussions, decisions and reasons for decisions should be recorded (written or electronic).

3.Referrals to children’s social care • Where a child has been harmed, is at risk of harm, or is in immediate danger, schools and colleges should make a referral to local children’s social care. • At the referral to children’s social care stage, schools and colleges will generally inform parents or carers, unless there are compelling reasons not to (if informing a parent or carer is going to put the child at additional risk). Any such decision should be made with the support of children’s social care. • If a referral is made, children’s social care will then make enquiries to determine whether any of the children involved are in need of protection or other services. • Where statutory assessments are appropriate, the school or college (especially the designated safeguarding lead or a deputy) should be working alongside, and cooperating with, the relevant lead social worker. Collaborative working will help ensure the best possible package of coordinated support is implemented for the victim and, where appropriate, the alleged perpetrator and any other children that require support.

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• Schools and colleges should not wait for the outcome (or even the start) of a children’s social care investigation before protecting the victim and other children in the school or college. It will be important for the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) to work closely with children’s social care (and other agencies as required) to ensure any actions the school or college takes do not jeopardise a statutory investigation. A risk assessment will help inform any decision. Consideration of safeguarding the victim, alleged perpetrator, any other children directly involved in the safeguarding report and all children at the school or college should be immediate. • In some cases, children’s social care will review the evidence and decide a statutory intervention is not appropriate. The school or college (generally led by the designated safeguarding lead or a deputy) should be prepared to refer again if they believe the child remains in immediate danger or at risk of harm. If a statutory assessment is not appropriate, the designated safeguarding lead (or a deputy) should consider other support mechanisms such as early help, specialist support and pastoral support. • Whatever the response, it should be under-pinned by the principle that sexual violence and sexual harassment is never acceptable and will not be tolerated. • All concerns, discussions, decisions and reasons for decisions should be recorded (written or electronic).

4.Reporting to the Police • Any report to the police will generally be in parallel with a referral to children’s social care (as above). • It is important that the designated safeguarding lead (and their deputies) are clear about the local process for referrals and follow that process. • Where a report of rape, assault by penetration or sexual assault is made, the starting point is this should be passed on to the police. Whilst the age of criminal responsibility is ten, if the alleged perpetrator is under ten, the starting principle of reporting to the police remains. The police will take a welfare, rather than a criminal justice, approach. • At this stage, schools and colleges will generally inform parents or carers unless there are compelling reasons not to, for example, if informing a parent or carer is likely to put a child at additional risk. In circumstances where parents or carers have not been informed, it will be especially important that the school or college is supporting the child in any decision they take. This should be with the support of children’s social care and any appropriate specialist agencies. • Where a report has been made to the police, the school or college should consult the police and agree what information can be disclosed to staff and others, in particular, the alleged perpetrator and their parents or carers. They should also discuss the best way to protect the victim and their anonymity. • All police forces in England have specialist units that investigate child abuse. The names and structures of these units are matters for local forces. It will be important that the designated safeguarding lead (and their deputies) are aware of their local arrangements. • In some cases, it may become clear very quickly, that the police (for whatever reason) will not take further action. In such circumstances, it is important that the school or college continue to engage with specialist support for the victim as required. • Whatever the response, it should be under-pinned by the principle that sexual violence and sexual harassment is never acceptable and will not be tolerated.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Appendix 11: Peer on Peer Abuse

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Appendix 12: Children Missing in Education

All children, regardless of their circumstances, are entitled to an efficient, full time education which is suitable to their age, ability, aptitude and any special educational needs they may have. Children missing education are children of compulsory school age who are not registered pupils at a school and are not receiving suitable education otherwise than at a school. Children missing education are at significant risk of underachieving, being victims of harm, exploitation or radicalisation, and becoming NEET (not in education, employment or training) later in life. Effective information sharing between parents, schools and local authorities is critical to ensuring that all children of compulsory school age are safe and receiving suitable education.

Trust School Responsibilities Schools must enter pupils on the admission register at the beginning of the first day on which the school has agreed, or been notified, that the pupil will attend the school. If a pupil fails to attend on the agreed or notified date, the school should undertake reasonable enquiries to establish the child’s whereabouts and consider notifying the local authority at the earliest opportunity.

Schools must monitor pupils’ attendance through their daily register. Schools should agree with their local authority the intervals at which they will inform local authorities of the details of pupils who fail to attend regularly or have missed ten school days or more without permission Schools should monitor attendance closely and address poor or irregular attendance. It is important that pupils’ poor attendance is referred to the local authority.

Where a pupil has not returned to school for ten days after an authorised absence or is absent from school without authorisation for twenty consecutive school days, the pupil can be removed from the admission register when the school and the local authority have failed, after jointly making reasonable enquiries, to establish the whereabouts of the child. This only applies if the school does not have reasonable grounds to believe that the pupil is unable to attend because of sickness or unavoidable cause.

Schools must also arrange full-time education for excluded pupils from the sixth school day of a fixed period exclusion. This information can be found in the Exclusion from maintained schools, academies and pupil referral units in England statutory guidance.

Parental responsibilities Parents have a duty to ensure that their children of compulsory school age are receiving suitable full- time education. Some parents may elect to educate their children at home and may withdraw them from school at any time to do so, unless they are subject to a School Attendance Order.

Where a parent notifies the school in writing that they are home educating, the school must delete the child’s name from the admission register and inform the local authority. However, where parents orally indicate that they intend to withdraw their child to be home educated, the school should consider notifying the local authority at the earliest opportunity.

Children with Education, Health and Care (EHC) plans can be home educated. Where the EHC plan or statement sets out SEN provision that the child should receive at home, the local authority is under a duty to arrange that provision. Where the EHC plan names a school or type of school as the place where the child should receive his or her education, but the parent chooses to home educate their child, the local authority must assure itself that the provision being made by the parent is suitable. In such cases, the local authority must review the plan or statement annually to assure itself that the provision set out in it continues to be appropriate and that the child’s SEN continue to be met. 58

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Making reasonable enquiries The term ‘reasonable enquiries’ grants schools and local authorities a degree of flexibility in decision- making, particularly as the steps that need to be taken in a given case will vary. The term ‘reasonable’ also makes clear that there is a limit to what the school and local authority is expected to do. The type of procedures may include the appropriate person checking with relatives, neighbours, landlords – private or social housing providers – and other local stakeholders who are involved. They should also record that they have completed these procedures. If there is reason to believe a child is in immediate danger or at risk of harm, a referral should be made to children’s social care (and the police if appropriate).

A pupil’s name can only be removed from the admission register under regulation 8(1), sub- paragraph (f) (iii) or (h) (iii) if the school and the local authority have failed to establish the pupil’s whereabouts after jointly making reasonable enquiries.

If there is evidence to suggest the child has moved to a different local authority area, contact should be made with the named person in the new authority using secure communication methods. When the whereabouts of a child is unclear or unknown, it is reasonable to expect that the local authority and the school will complete and record one or more of the following actions: a) Make contact with the parent, relatives and neighbours using known contact details; b) Check local databases within the local authority; c) Check Key to Success or school2school (s2s) systems; d) Follow local information sharing arrangements and where possible make enquiries via other local databases and agencies e.g. those of housing providers, school admissions, health services, police, refuge, Youth Justice Services, children’s social care, and HMRC; e) Check with UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) and/or the Border Force; f) Check with agencies known to be involved with family; g) Check with local authority and school from which child moved, if known; h) Check with any local authority and school to which a child may have moved; i) Check with the local authority where the child lives, if different from where the school is; j) In the case of children of Service Personnel, check with the Ministry of Defence (MoD) Children’s Education Advisory Service (CEAS); k) Home visit(s) made by appropriate team, following local guidance concerning risk assessment and if appropriate make enquiries with neighbour(s) and relatives.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Children at particular risk of missing education There are many circumstances where a child may become missing from education, so it is vital that local Trust Schools make judgements on a case by case basis. Although not exhaustive, the list below presents some of the circumstances that schools should consider and report immediately if there are safeguarding concerns: a. Pupils at risk of harm/neglect – Children may be missing from education because they are suffering from abuse or neglect. Where this is suspected schools should follow local child protection procedures. However, if a child as in immediate danger or at risk of harm, a referral should be made immediately to children’s social care (and the police if appropriate). Local authority officers responsible for CME should check that a referral has been made and, if not, they should alert children’s social care. b. Children of Gypsy, Roma and Traveller (GRT) families – Research has shown that many children from these families can become disengaged from education, particularly during the secondary school phase. It is therefore important that schools inform the local authority when a GRT pupil leaves the school without identifying a new destination school, particularly in the transition from primary to secondary so that they can attempt to facilitate continuity of the child’s education. Although many are settled, some GRT families move regularly and their children can be at increased risk of missing education. c. Children of Service Personnel – Families of members of the Armed Forces are likely to move frequently – both in the UK and overseas and often at short notice. Schools and local authorities should contact the MoD Children’s Education Advisory Service (CEAS) on 01980 618244 for advice on making arrangements to ensure continuity of education for those children when the family moves. d. Missing children and runaways – Children who go missing or run away from home or care may be in serious danger and are vulnerable to crime, sexual exploitation or abduction as well as missing education. e. Children and young people supervised by the Youth Justice System – Children who have offended or are at risk of doing so are also at risk of disengaging from education. Local authority Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) are responsible for supervising those young people (aged 8 to 18). YOTs should work with the local authority CME officer to ensure that children are receiving, or return to, appropriate full-time education. Where a young person was registered at a school prior to custody, the school may be able to keep the place open for their return. f. Children who cease to attend a school – there are many reasons why a child stops attending a school. It could be because the parent chooses to home educate their child. However, where the reason for a child who has stopped attending a school is not known, the local authority should investigate the case and satisfy itself that the child is receiving suitable education. g. Children of new migrant families – children of new migrant families may not have yet settled into a fixed address or may have arrived into a local authority area without the authority becoming aware, therefore increasing the risk of the child missing education.

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Trust Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy V5.0 Aug20 Appendix 13: Additional Advice and Support

Please refer to Keeping Children Children Safe in Education Part 1 pages 28-29. https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/ 828587/Keeping_children_safe_in_education_part_one.pdf

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